Editor’s note: The following commentary/open letter to the community has been submitted for publication by City Manager John Weidl.

With everything happening so quickly on election night and knowing many of you may have questions, I wanted to take a moment to provide this letter and the attached documents to share a complete picture of the events surrounding the extended polling hours. I have included the filed declaration and petition, the judge’s order, and a summary memo from our city attorney to provide a complete overview. These documents are attached for anyone interested in reviewing the details directly.

On election night, we were informed by an attorney from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) regarding the filing of an emergency ex parte petition requesting that voting hours be extended at the Whitewater Armory and University Center polling locations due to increased voter turnout, new registrations, and longer wait times. The City of Whitewater did not initiate this petition.

Following a court hearing around 9:45 PM on Tuesday evening, Walworth County Circuit Court Judge David Reddy approved an order to keep the polls open until 10:30 PM. Our election team, following the judge’s instructions, marked ballots cast after the original closing time in compliance with legal guidelines and posted notice of the order on social media.

Our city attorney was present at the hearing to represent Whitewater, and we fully complied with the court’s order, ensuring that everyone who came to vote by the order’s ruling had the opportunity to do so. I understand that some may feel frustrated about the extended hours, but as a City, we are bound to respect and follow the judicial process.

On a positive note, we saw an incredible turnout and response on election day, evidently with over a thousand new voter registrations, along with hundreds of voter registration updates. While it’s inspiring to see such high engagement in our democratic process, processing these new registrations and address verifications created a substantial workload for our volunteers and poll workers.

For perspective, if each registration or update takes about 3 minutes, that’s more than 50 hours of processing time. If each takes closer to 5 minutes, it requires around 83 hours of workload—all within a single day that’s 16 hours long. This is equivalent to between 4 and 6 people working all day just on voter registrations and updates, and that’s assuming a steady timing sequence that allows for continuous processing.

Our election volunteers, staff, and observers, who are your neighbors and fellow residents, dedicate their day to ensuring every voter can participate. We are immensely grateful for their efforts! Moving forward, we are exploring additional staffing and technology options for future elections to help manage such high turnout and same-day voter registrations. We’re also looking at ways to encourage voter registration ahead of election day, making the process smoother for everyone involved.

If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions, please get in touch with me at citymanager@whitewater-wi.gov or the City Clerk’s office at cityclerk@whitewater-wi.gov. We’re here to listen and to ensure transparency and trust in our election process.

Again, thank you to our volunteers, poll workers, and observers, whose dedication and perseverance made this election possible. And thank you to those who voted for your patience and participation. We look forward to continuing to provide a polling location at the University and improving the voting experience.

New voter registration tallies by ward

• UW-Whitewater polling place: Ward 13, 412; Wards 8-10, 768; subtotal, 1180

• Armory polling place: Wards 1-7, 547; Wards 11-12, 93, subtotal: 640

• City wide total: 1820

Supporting documentation

The following links provide a memorandum to the city’s common council regarding the “emergency petition to extend voting hours,” found here: http://whitewaterwise.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Memo-re-Extension-of-Voting-Hours.pdf. 

along with several legal documents filed by the Democratic National Committee with the Walworth County Circuit Court, including: a “Petitioners’ Motion for an Order Extending Poling Hours,” found here: http://whitewaterwise.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Walworth-County-Suit-to-Extend-Polling-Hours.pdf. 

an “Order Granting Injunction and Extended Voting Hours,” found here: http://whitewaterwise.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Order-Extending-Polling-Hours.pdf. 

and a “Declaration of Evelyn Schmidt” a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student who declared through testimony to long lines and wait times at the university polling place. The document is here: http://whitewaterwise.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Schmidt-Declaration-2024-11-05_Whitewater-Polling-Place.pdf.