Over 100 Wisconsin municipalities unable to staff one polling place for upcoming election, says new report

MADISON, Wis. (WFRV) – Numerous municipalities across Wisconsin are reporting shortages of poll workers for the upcoming election. According to a report from the Wisconsin Elections Commission, over 100 municipalities are experiencing critical shortages in which there are no poll workers available.

According to WEC, the shortages are due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 60 percent of municipalities are reporting a shortage of poll workers. Due to this, many have consolidated polling places in order to combat the shortage.

In the WEC report:

111 jurisdictions cannot staff even one polling place
126 jurisdictions have fewer staff than needed for efficient operations
542 jurisdictions have enough poll workers to function efficiently

Jurisdictions that are experiencing shortages are scattered throughout the state. Nearly every county in Wisconsin has at least one municipality concerned about its ability to open a polling place on April 7.

WEC says 530 municipalities have not shared data on the status of their poll workers. To combat the shortage, clerks, WEC staff, and the DOA have reached out to colleges, universities, labor unions, state employees, and other groups to locate additional poll workers. Despite this, many municipality clerks continue to report a shortage.

Officials are also reporting unprecedented demand for absentee ballots for this election, causing an equally high demand for envelopes. WEC says that, in early March, requests for envelopes rapidly grew from 300,000 to more than one million. Over one million absentee envelopes were distributed to nearly every county, yet the demand for envelopes remains unprecedented.

Related: Wisconsin governor asks Legislature to take action, send absentee ballots to all registered voters for April 7 election

During a WEC meeting Tuesday, officials say a record number of over 900,000 absentee ballots have been requested for this election, beating the record of 800,000 during the 2016 Presidential election.

If municipalities do run out of absentee envelopes, clerks have been provided instructions on how to continue to fulfill requests using plain envelopes and printed certificates.

WEC explains that clerks from all of Wisconsin’s counties have requested assistance to get sanitizer for both people and surfaces. Due to widespread shortages of sanitizers due to the coronavirus pandemic, WEC and DOA reached out to local distilleries to obtain alcohol-based sanitizer products.

Related: Wisconsin Coronavirus: Washington Co. to intervene in federal lawsuit filed by Green Bay over election

This week, state officials will distribute 5,830 liters of multi-purpose sanitizer to clerks at six distribution centers across the state. The shipment also includes 10,000 plastic spray bottles, labels for the bottles, and about 7,000 paper towel rolls. WEC says these supplies will be enough for all polling places to have at least two liters of sanitizer.

Clerks have also requested 1.5 million disinfecting isopropyl wipes for polling places. As of Tuesday, Wisconsin officials say they have collected 750,000 wipes, which are expected to be delivered to municipalities this week.

While clerks have also requested Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE, but WEC says these items are limited to medical facilities. If clerks are able to collect their own PPE, they may use it, but the state will not be able to distribute PPE.

Related: Stimulus Check Calculator: How much money will you get?

Some municipalities have also requested disposable pens so voters and poll workers do not have to share pens. A request for 1.5 million pens was submitted. Officials believe pens will be shipped to municipalities this week and the pens may be used to sign the poll book and fill out their ballot.

WEC is reminding voters that requests for absentee ballots must be placed by Thursday, April 2.