Voting lines throughout Milwaukee stretched for blocks during the April 7 election while people waited hours. Absentee ballot submissions broke a new record across the state, but thousand of voters across Milwaukee were pelted with hail and rain as they stood in parking lots and sidewalks waiting to cast their ballots.
There were only five voting locations open in Milwaukee County for citizens to cast their ballots in the presidential primary and numerous state and local races compared to the usual 180 locations. National Guard soldiers were deployed in civilian clothes to help election workers with the shortage of around 1,000 workers.
At least one election worker at Marshall High School started her day at 5:45 a.m. and she did not expect her job to end until late into the night, several hours after ballots were due.
Edna Reed stood in line for at least one and a half hours before getting to the entrance doors to Marshall High School for voters. Reed said there were a few community members, like owner of local restaurant Mister Bar-B-Que, who were making food like hamburgers, hotdogs and brats to feed hungry voters. Packages of water bottles and boxes fruit snacks were also laying on the ground for voters if they wanted.
Curbside voting lines stretched for blocks at Marshall High School. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Curbside voting lines stretched for blocks at Marshall High School. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Voters zigzagged through one of the parking lots while waiting to cast their ballots. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
The line to vote in person at Marshall High School wrapped around the block. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Voters zigzagged through one of the parking lots while waiting to cast their ballots. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Curbside voting lines stretched for blocks at Marshall High School. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
The line to vote in person at Marshall High School wrapped around the block. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
The line to vote in person at Marshall High School wrapped around the block. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Curbside voting lines stretched for blocks at Marshall High School. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
The line to vote in person at Marshall High School wrapped around the block. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Milwaukee County Election Commission Committee Member Rick Baas was present at Marshall High School as an observer. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Election workers setup a tent to help voters with disabilities or other problems with voting. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
The sun sets over Marshall High as voters continue to fill in. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Marshall High School. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Curbside voting lines stretched for blocks at Marshall High School. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Curbside voting lines at Marshall High School. The line of cars stretched at least five city blocks with no clear starting point as drivers entered the line at whichever intersection they wanted. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer
“We were blessed by god,” said Reed joking about the hail and rain to the nearby people she had gotten to know while standing in line for over an hour.
While some voters were not too upset about having to stand in line for hours to vote, others voiced their anger candidly.
“Screw the republicans,” shouted one angry voter exiting the polls as she noticed a reporter covering the Marshall High location.
Voters standing six feet apart wrapped around Riverside High School and through the neighboring park as they waited to practice their right to vote. They were joined by protest groups, local media, police and local musicians.
Nearly every voter in line was wearing a facemask of some kind and there was much more space between each person in line compared to pre-pandemic elections.
The curbside voting line at Riverside High School stretched across the Locust Street bridge. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
The curbside voting line at Riverside High School stretched across the Locust Street bridge. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
The curbside voting line at Riverside High School stretched across the Locust Street bridge. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
The curbside voting line at Riverside High School stretched across the Locust Street bridge. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Voters stood in line for up to two and a half hours before getting the chance to vote at Riverside High. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Voters stood in line for up to two and a half hours before getting the chance to vote at Riverside High. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Voters stood in line for up to two and a half hours before getting the chance to vote at Riverside High. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Citizens passed out gloves and water to people standing in line to vote. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Citizens passed out gloves and water to people standing in line to vote. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Voters stood in line for up to two and a half hours before getting the chance to vote at Riverside High. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Local musiscians put on a live performance for Milwaukeeans waiting in line. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Voters stood in line for up to two and a half hours before getting the chance to vote at Riverside High. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Voters stood in line for up to two and a half hours before getting the chance to vote at Riverside High. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer 
Voters stood in line for up to two and a half hours before getting the chance to vote at Riverside High. Photo: Adam Kelnhofer
The voters at Riverside High School experienced the same hail and rain storm voters at Marshall High School went through minutes earlier. However, Riverside voters were greeted by generous Milwaukeeans bringing free food like Ian’s Pizza to hungry citizens just like their neighbors at Marshall High.
Even as night fell and the church bells rang eight times, voters at the back of the line at Riverside High were more than an entire city block away while they were escorted by Milwaukee police with one squad car and one motorcycle.
Voting lines at South Division High School were relatively short compared to some of the other Milwaukee voting locations where Milwaukee residents who have not received absentee ballots yet are required to vote if they wish to vote.
Several voters were angry about needing to show up in person to vote. Some of those angry voters requested absentee ballots more than a month prior to help social distancing.
One of the frustrated voters at South Division voiced her concerns about gathering thousands of people in five locations across Milwaukee on one day saying that this process does not facilitate social distancing as well as staying home and casting an absentee ballot.
While voting didn’t take much more time than usual at South Division High School, some voters were annoyed by the extra time and effort required to travel to a voting location that is different and farther away from their regular location.
This nuisance didn’t stop more than 2,000 Milwaukeeans from casting their ballots in multiple races across the state and the Presidential Primary, according to Election Supervisor for South Division High School Brad Hoeschen.
“We have no idea how many people are actually going to show up right now,” said Hoeschen. “The increased number of absentee ballots requested throughout the state is certainly going to skew the number of voters coming out today, as well as the fear of spreading the virus.”
Hoeschen also said election workers usually expect roughly a 50% voter turnout for each ward, but with the current situation and all of its nuances, they are likely to get roughly 30% to 35% voter turnout for each ward.
Why did Evers TWICE admit he didn’t have the authority to delay election but tried anyway at the 11th hour?