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City clerk pitches centralized counting of absentee ballots to ease poll-day congestion
Summary
City Clerk Gina described a plan to centralize absentee ballot tabulation — a 'central count' — to reduce congestion at polling sites and improve training and reconciliation, but aldermen raised security and transparency concerns and asked for more data before deciding.
City Clerk Gina outlined a proposal to centralize processing and tabulation of absentee ballots, telling the Oconomowoc Common Council that the city handled 8,216 ballots in the November election and that roughly 63% of voters used absentee options.
"Badger Books ... is basically a PDF of a poll book that's downloaded at the poll location," Gina said, explaining digital poll-book technology she is considering alongside central count procedures to speed processing.
Gina said the central-count approach — allowed under state statute and requiring the city's procedures to be submitted to the state election commission and creation of a board of absentee canvassers — would let the clerk's office check and process absentee envelopes in one secure location rather than sending them to individual polling places. She said the change could reduce staff time and the need for the Department of Public Works to move ballot equipment during election day, and would allow focused training for routine absentee processing tasks.
Aldermen asked for more specifics. Alderman Chaz (last name not specified in transcript) raised concerns about concentrating ballots in a single location and whether observers or a visible process could be maintained: "The central count problem for me is that it's in a spot that, you know, generally people don't have access to," he said. Several council members suggested using the council chamber or another public room so residents could observe processing.
Gina said a central count could operate without Badger Books (the barcode-enabled check-in system), but that barcodes would speed processing and reduce manual assignment of voter numbers. She also said staffing and training to operate a centralized tabulation would require a modest budget for absentee tabulators.
Why it matters: absentee voting made up the majority of turnout in the recent major election; centralizing canvass could speed results and reduce logistical burdens, but council members said they want a pro/con list, examples from other municipalities and the fiscal impact before deciding. Gina agreed to bring additional information and examples to the next meeting.
Council action: The council did not vote on adopting central count procedures at the May 6 meeting; Gina was asked to return with a cost/benefit list, sample procedures, and examples from other municipalities for a future agenda.
Ending: Council members asked staff to prepare a concise pro/con analysis including the cost of additional tabulators, visibility/observer options, and whether central count would require changes to meeting schedules if canvassing were held during what is now a council meeting night.
