Milwaukee, WI

Wisconsin election runs mostly smoothly, despite bomb threats

Published

1 year ago

November 6, 2024

Wisconsin election runs mostly smoothly, despite bomb threats

Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Wisconsin’s free newsletter here.

Polls closed across Wisconsin after an Election Day marked most notably by a human error in Milwaukee that prompted city election officials to count 31,000 absentee ballots all over again, potentially delaying the state’s unofficial results for hours.

In other areas around the state, problems appeared minimal despite long lines and rain. Some election officials said they had unprecedented turnout but managed it. Madison received bomb threats, likely originating from Russia, directed at several current and former polling places, but city police didn’t deem the threats credible and didn’t interrupt voting because of them.

By 9 p.m., election officials had already tabulated around 1.4 million absentee and in-person ballots across the state.

Unlocked tabulator doors prompt decision to count ballots again

In Milwaukee, election chief Paulina Gutiérrez projected that the city’s counting of absentee ballots would go well into Wednesday morning, partially a result of her decision Tuesday afternoon to make election workers count 31,000 absentee ballots all over again because some staff didn’t lock tabulator doors in the early morning.

For security reasons, those panel doors — which cover the on/off switch and sometimes a slot for USB drives — are to be locked during counting, though other security measures ensured there was no chance of tampering.

The decision to restart the count, city spokesperson Jeff Fleming said, was “out of an abundance of caution.”

Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said the commission didn’t weigh in on the city’s decision to rerun the batch of ballots, but she praised the city’s transparency throughout the process.

After Gutiérrez made that decision, the city put out an all-call to every Milwaukee employee to help election officials count the ballots that had already been tabulated. Between 30 and 50 city staff from health, fire, and other departments came to help, city spokesperson Caroline Reinwald said.

“Things are moving really smoothly right now and quickly, so hopefully this isn’t actually that much of a delay,” she said.

But Republican leaders criticized the oversight that led to the second count. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin called Milwaukee’s central count “grotesquely disorganized.” State GOP Chair Brian Schimming said about election officials, “You had one job,” adding that the election operation had gone “ridiculously wrong.”

Johnson said his concerns about Milwaukee election officials’ oversight could be alleviated if they present him video logs of the central counting site as well as records from the initial and second count of the 31,000 absentee ballots, including how they’re split by party. There are video streams of central count, but vote totals weren’t exported in the manner that Johnson was seeking, though each vote has a paper trail, city officials stated.

Milwaukee officials had counted 64,000 absentee ballots of around 108,000 total by 8:30 p.m., including the initial batch of ballots that was rerun through tabulators.

Under Milwaukee rules, all of the city’s ballots are processed and tabulated at one central location. State law doesn’t allow election officials to tabulate or process any ballots before Election Day, a policy that is partially responsible for the typically late reporting of results from absentee ballots.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers tried to change that policy this past legislative session, but the Republican-written proposal to allow some ballot processing on the Monday before an election stalled in the Senate.

“It certainly seems like, if we did have laws that were a little bit different, that allowed pre-processing, like the majority of other states, that potentially we could have unofficial results earlier in the evening,” Wolfe said.

Election Day in Milwaukee was also marked by a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee, alleging that GOP election observers were being restricted at city election sites. The GOP walked back its claims at a Tuesday hearing, conceding there weren’t any issues.

Hoax bomb threat doesn’t disrupt voting

Outside of Milwaukee, election officials faced few issues.

The Madison Police Department received bomb threats for several current and former polling sites via several emails that appeared to be from an automated bot, perhaps linked to Russia, city spokesperson Dylan Brogan said. Police immediately thought they were bogus, and voting wasn’t disrupted at any voting location, Brogan said, though they followed up to make sure everything was fine.

In Thornapple, a northern Wisconsin town that faced a Justice Department lawsuit over its decision not to use accessible voting machines in the past, election officials did have a voting machine in use, said Erin Webster, a local resident who was an election observer on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, by 9 p.m., Wisconsin voters appeared overwhelmingly in support of a constitutional amendment to ban voting by noncitizens across Wisconsin. The amendment would have little practical effect on who can vote under existing laws, but it would bar municipalities from opening their local elections to noncitizens or younger voters.

The state had a surge of early in-person voting, but election officials said that Tuesday was still very busy. Melissa Kono, who has been a clerk in the small northern Wisconsin town of Burnside since 2013, said it was the most intense election she had ever administered in terms of turnout.

Alexander Shur is a reporter for Votebeat based in Wisconsin. Contact Alexander at ashur@votebeat.org.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee judge calls out marijuana odor in courthouse

Published

3 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee judge calls out marijuana odor in courthouse

A Milwaukee County judge on Thursday, Feb. 26, criticized the smell of marijuana inside the courthouse during a sentencing hearing, calling it inappropriate and illegal as visitors described the odor as common.

Posted February 26, 2026 9:30pm CST

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Bucks sign Cormac Ryan to two-way contract

Published

15 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee Bucks sign Cormac Ryan to two-way contract

The Milwaukee Bucks signed guard Cormac Ryan to a two-way contract for the remainder of the regular season.
Ryan will be ineligible to play for the Bucks during the postseason.
Ryan averaged 20.4 points per game for the G League’s Wisconsin Herd, shooting 42.3% from three-point range.

The Milwaukee Bucks rewarded Cormac Ryan for his strong G League season with the Wisconsin Herd by signing him to a two-way contract. That will allow Ryan, 27, the chance to finish out the regular season with the Bucks. He would be ineligible for postseason play, however.

Ryan joins former Dominican High School star Alex Antetokounmpo and Pete Nance on two-way deals. The Bucks now have a completely full roster, with 15 guaranteed contracts as well.

Ryan was originally signed by the team in the summer, when he played in five summer league games, before inking a training camp contract. He appeared in two preseason games.

Ryan then played 29 games with the Herd and shot 42.3% from behind the 3-point line to average 20.4 points per game. He shot 48.9% from the field overall.

Ryan, a 6-foot-5 guard, played at Stanford (2018-19), Notre Dame (2020-23) and North Carolina (2023-24) before going undrafted. He averaged 10.4 points per game in college on 35.2% 3-point shooting. He made 40.7% of his 3-pointers in 2021-22 at Notre Dame.

He initially signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ryan did not make it out of training camp in 2024 but signed to the Thunder’s G League affiliate.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Bucks injury report: Is Giannis playing tonight vs. Cavs?

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee Bucks injury report: Is Giannis playing tonight vs. Cavs?

The Milwaukee Bucks have an opportunity to steal a victory from one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, they host the tired and diminished Cleveland Cavaliers tonight at Fiserv Forum.

Cleveland (37-22), in contention for a top three seed, beat the New York Knicks on Feb. 24 in Ohio. After flying into Milwaukee after the game, the Cavaliers ruled out MVP candidate Donovan Mitchell and reigning defensive player of the year Evan Mobley. All-star James Harden is questionable to play.

One player who will suit up for Cleveland is point guard Dennis Schröder, who was acquired at the deadline from Sacramento. The 32-year-old is often a thorn in the side of the Bucks, and he scored 24 points in a Kings victory over the Bucks early in the season.

The Bucks are also playing on the second night of a back-to-back, though they slept in their own beds after beating Miami at home. They have won seven of their last nine games.

Milwaukee (25-31) remains out of the postseason picture entirely, however, sitting in 11th place in the East.

The Bucks have beaten teams with winning records in consecutive games only twice this season, with wins over Golden State and New York (Oct. 28-30) and Orlando and Oklahoma City (Feb. 11-12).

And, the Bucks also have struggled against teams that do not have their stars. They lost twice to Denver without all-stars Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray (and even more starters), lost to Minnesota without all-stars Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert and even Portland without starters Jrue Holiday and Shaedon Sharpe. They also lost to Philadelphia twice without Joel Embiid and Paul George on a minute limit.

Is Giannis playing?

No.

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is still ramping up in his rehab from a Jan. 23 soleus strain in his right calf, which he self-diagnosed as a four- to six-week injury. Antetokounmpo has done “live” practice work with teammates and coaches after the team returned home from New Orleans beginning on Feb. 21.

Before the game against Miami, Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo has not gone five-on-five but does not need to. Rivers also added the two-time MVP has not suffered any setbacks with the injury.

What is the Bucks record without Giannis?

10-16

Milwaukee is 15-15 when Antetokounmpo plays any number of minutes.

Cavaliers on hot streak since trading for James Harden

Cleveland, which was the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last year with 64 wins, doubled down its roster heading into this season with the most expensive team in the NBA. But, as the trade deadline approached in early February, the team had fallen short of expectations. So, they began shedding salary and talent, most notably homegrown all-star guard Darius Garland.

They shipped the injured 26-year-old to the Los Angeles Clippers for 36-year-old all-star guard James Harden and received an immediate boost, winning five straight and six of seven heading into the game against the Bucks.

But Harden did suffer a fracture in his right (non-shooting) thumb against the Knicks on Feb. 24.

Harden has been solid since arriving in Cleveland, averaging 18.9 points on 48.8% shooting from behind the 3-point line while also averaging 8.0 assists. His presence has rejuvenated all-star center Jarrett Allen, who has averaged 20.4 points on 76.7% shooting since the point guard’s arrival. Before Harden joining the team, Allen averaged 13.9 points on 60% shooting in his first 40 games.

Taurean Prince, out (neck surgery)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, out (right calf strain)

Milwaukee Bucks probable starters

Guards: Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins, AJ Green
Forward: Kyle Kuzma
Center: Myles Turner

Cavaliers injury report

Max Strus, out (left foot surgery)
Donovan Mitchell, out (right groin strain)
Evan Mobley, out (left calf injury management)
James Harden, questionable (right thumb fracture)

What time is the Bucks game?

Tip-off is schedule for 7 p.m. CT.

What channel is the Bucks game on?

The game will be simulcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin and WMLW The M with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.