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FACT BRIEF

Did a late night 'ballot dump' in Milwaukee cost Eric Hovde the U.S. Senate election?

By Ava Menkes
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NO

Milwaukee counts absentee ballots at a central location and reports the totals only when they are finished.

Those results were delayed a few hours this year because election officials in Milwaukee recounted about 30,000 absentee ballots during the night of Nov. 3 into Nov. 4 because doors on the ballot tabulators were not properly sealed. 

In a Nov. 11 social media post, user End Wokeness claimed a 3:30 a.m. “ballot dump” lost candidate Eric Hovde the Senate race in Wisconsin. The chart in the post shows no evidence of fraud, just Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s vote total increasing when Milwaukee reported its absentee ballot results.

Baldwin received 82% of votes from the city’s absentee ballots and 78% overall, the Milwaukee Election Commission reported.

Wisconsin law requires clerks to post the number of total outstanding absentee ballots by the close of polls.

Baldwin won with 49.4% of the vote to Hovde’s 48.5% statewide, according to unofficial results. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Milwaukee Election Commission: Latest unofficial election results
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Editorial: Hovde's election claims are false. He's blaming Milwaukee – without evidence.
PBS News: ‘Human error’ forces recount of 30,000 absentee ballots in Milwaukee
The New York Times: Election officials say Wisconsin Republican's claims 'lack any merit'
USA Today: Nothing improper or surprising in Wisconsin 'ballot dump' | Fact check
The New York Times: Wisconsin U.S. Senate Election Results
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.