MILWAUKEE — The FBI is still investigating after two ballot boxes were set on fire earlier this week in the states of Washington and Oregon, damaging hundreds of voter ballots.
It comes as election officials around the country are on high alert with less than one week until Election Day.
Executive Director of the Milwaukee Election Commission Paulina Gutierrez addressed security measures being taken at ballot boxes in the city, which are designed to withstand all weather conditions and any tampering attempts.
“Our ballot boxes are specifically manufactured U.S. heavy duty steel,” she said. “The opening is a lot smaller than most. They are also under 24-hour security.”
Gutierrez also pointed that out that all ballot boxes in Milwaukee are bolted to the ground in well-lit areas on city government property. They have heavy-duty locks that can only be opened by specially trained election officials.
Drop box ballots in the city are picked up every day, sometimes multiple times a day, until Election Day. Election officials said they are kept secure through the entire transport and storage process.
“We have conversations with our law enforcement partners,” Gutierrez said. “We’ve met with the fire department, HAZMAT team. We have plans in place to act swiftly in the event that we need to.”
Gutierrez and her team of election workers are also preparing for all scenarios at the polls on Election Day.
Luz Quinonez-Hurd has seen and experienced a lot in her 14 years as an election worker in Milwaukee.
She said she’s been on the receiving end of verbal threats made by voters.
“Oh, yes, I’ve had that a couple times,” she said. “More than once.”
She remembers having to report one voter because he was trying to tell others how to vote, which is against the law.
“We ended up calling security and the police on that,” said Quinonez-Hurd.
Gutierrez is urging everyone to be civil with each other, as Nov. 5 is less than a week away.
“We may not agree all the time, but the discourse just needs to be respectful,” said Gutierrez. “That’s what it is to be an American. To have conversations with people that we may not see eye-to-eye with, but we all agree that democracy is important.”
Quinonez-Hurd said despite any of the challenges she’s experienced as a poll worker, she would not stop doing this job. She said she loves being part of the election process and helping people exercise their right to vote.
“The people coming, different nationalities. People are nice. I just love it. I love it, the environment and everything,” she said.