Sawyer County debates returning election duties to town clerks as turnover strains county clerk’s office

At a Sawyer County administrative committee meeting, the County Clerk reported rising workload tied to town clerks’ turnover and urged a return to town-level administration of elections, saying current arrangements are unsustainable.

The county clerk, Liz (County Clerk), told the committee that an MOU with towns automatically renews March 31 and that the clerk’s office is now handling elections for many towns because of clerk vacancies. “It’s their statutory requirement,” Liz said, referring to town clerks’ responsibility to run municipal elections, and added that too much work has shifted to the county office.

Why it matters: Committee members said continuing to run town elections at county expense risks duplicative billing for electors and leaves towns without local election expertise. The clerk and several supervisors argued training town clerks to use WISVOTE and enforcing the MOU are preferable to the county continuing to enter towns’ election data indefinitely.

Committee discussion focused on three immediate problems: high turnover among town clerks and poll workers, towns that decline to pay the county for extra work, and local clerks who lack WISVOTE training. The clerk said 13 municipalities already rely on the county for election administration and projected that number could rise to 15–17 after April. She said some clerks are not training poll workers as required and that the county has had to correct spreadsheet errors and ballot mistakes provided by towns.

Board members proposed several next steps. Supervisors asked the clerk and legal staff to review the MOU language and report back at the next meeting with options for enforcement, training, or ending county provision of the full service. One supervisor noted the MOU requires towns to attend training; if they decline, the MOU could be voided.

The clerk described training practices she already uses: one new municipal clerk came into the county office to watch WISVOTE data entry and is expected to be able to operate independently by April. The committee discussed shifting training emphasis from poll workers (who the clerk said should be trained by municipal clerks) to the clerks themselves, and asked the clerk to survey town chairs if clerks are not meeting their duties.

Clarifying details from the meeting: the MOU renewal date is March 31; the county sells large laminated plat maps for $50; the clerk reported the typical public-records workload is dominated by sheriff’s-office requests; and several supervisors asked for a written recommendation next month on whether to continue the county’s current role or require town clerks to resume responsibility.

Next steps: The committee asked the clerk to (1) review the MOU with legal staff, (2) gather information from other county clerks at an upcoming seminar, and (3) report back at the next administration committee meeting with recommended options, including stricter enforcement of the MOU or a plan to increase clerk training and support.

Ending: Supervisors directed staff to place the MOU review and training recommendations on the agenda for the next meeting so the committee can decide whether to require towns to resume election administration or continue the county’s interim role.