Dane County Runs Out Of Ballots

By Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner

November 8, 2022

In an early afternoon tweet, Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said he already had to order more ballots in a sign that turnout was high in the largely Democratic county.

“Just had to reorder some ballots,” he wrote. “I ordered a lot of ballots. So take that as some sort of tea leaf.”

In an email from the Dane County Clerk’s office, the county reported that 47,551 ballots had been counted as of 11 a.m., which is approximately 27% of registered voters.

The county is on track for about 85% turnout. In 2018, Gov. Tony Evers carried the county with more than 220,000 votes.

The county also reported that voting was going smoothly so far after a morning check-in with local clerks. “There were no major issues or unusual problems and a number of the clerks reported steady to high turnout at their polling locations,” a news release stated.

In Sun Prairie, regularly one of the highest turnout communities in the state, municipal clerk Elena Hilby reported that the day had been “busy but really smooth.”

An election observer with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, who said the party didn’t allow her to give her name, said the day had been going “nice and smooth.” The woman said she’d been at the polling place since before it opened at 7 a.m. and said she wishes everyone was required to work as a poll worker or election observer to see how meticulous the process really is.

“I don’t think there’d be as much crying and yelling about fraud,” she said.

In Wisconsin’s great progressive tradition, we aim to hold the powerful accountable to the people, follow the money, and dig out the truth. Although we give you the inside scoop, we are not a publication for “insiders.” Instead, we cover the way politics and government affect citizens of the state.