Election woes worse than we knew

The deeper the dive, the darker things get. That is true when it comes to getting to the bottom of problems with absentee ballots in Wisconsin’s recent election. We already knew that some requested absentee ballots were never delivered. Now we’re learning the problems were even more widespread. Some sat in front of the computers for hours trying to request an absentee ballot from their local clerk. Some members of a household got their ballots, while others didn’t. Some potential voters requested absentee ballots, but only got a blank envelope in the mail. Others got their ballots, but after the election was over. Some who wanted to vote, but couldn’t get a ballot in time showed up at the polls amid the coronavirus outbreak, and now 7 people in Milwaukee who did so have tested positive for the virus. The problem may be there were so many people wanting to vote absentee that the system was overwhelmed. Wisconsin’s current system of voting absentee was designed when about five percent voted by mail. In this month’s election, that number shot up to more than 70%. If they don’t figure this out by November, when three times as many people could want cast a ballot, the problems could be even greater, even as the stakes are much higher. Our election officials need to figure this out, because we don’t want to see a repeat of this mess in November.