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No.
Milwaukee ballot tabulation machines are not connected to the internet.
“Tabulation machines are not connected to Wi-Fi and the idle speculation suggesting they are vulnerable is simply incorrect,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson posted on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024.
For years, the city has used flash drives — thumb-size data-storing devices — to transmit results.
Flash drives are cleared and reformatted before being put in sealed envelopes; the process is witnessed, and both a Democrat and a Republican are among the observers who certify the process. After all ballots are processed, voting results from the tabulation machines are exported to the flash drives. Witnesses also sign a document certifying the exports.
On Election Day afternoon, election officials restarted the absentee ballot count after an observer noticed panel doors on Milwaukee’s 13 tabulators weren’t properly closed.
City election officials said there was no indication any of the tabulators had been tampered with.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
X: Mayor Cavalier Johnson post
Milwaukee Election Commission: Central Count Tabulator Results Procedure
Wisconsin Watch: Wisconsin election: Milwaukee to recount thousands of ballots
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