Milwaukee Delays 15,000 Primary Votes After 5 USB Drives Download Wrong Data

Q: Despite the USB blunder, how might this delayed primary result pave the way for a historic first in Wisconsin's highest office?

The delayed result ultimately confirmed David Crowley as the Democratic nominee, putting Wisconsin on a path toward a possible historic milestone: if he wins the November general election, he would become the state’s first Black governor. Milwaukee’s reporting holdup did not change the substance of the race so much as postpone clarity in an exceptionally tight contest. Once the corrected city totals were uploaded, Crowley led Francesca Hong in Milwaukee by 2,392 votes, and the broader statewide count left him narrowly ahead. Associated Press coverage said his victory became clear after Hong conceded, eliminating the immediate prospect of a recount. That matters because the primary was the gateway to the general election. Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, now advances to face Republican nominee Tom Tiffany. With that nomination secured, the historic possibility is no longer theoretical inside the Democratic field; it now depends on the November outcome. Officials stressed the USB problem was a procedural mistake, not a voting-machine malfunction, and that paper ballots and audit steps remained in place. So while the error delayed the release of Milwaukee’s numbers, it did not undermine the certified path that elevated Crowley into position to seek that first in Wisconsin history.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 13

Five of nine USB flash drives pulled audit logs instead of vote totals, delaying Milwaukee’s Democratic gubernatorial primary count by about an hour before results were properly downloaded after 1 a.m.
Officials said a wrong button was pushed during export, not a machine failure, and stressed the tabulators kept the results intact—no ballots were lost, changed, recounted or retabulated.
The error left roughly 15,000 votes unreported in the closely watched David Crowley-Francesca Hong race, which was not officially called until 2:34 a.m., with Crowley winning by 0.5%.
Critics called the episode a training and competence failure, while Milwaukee and Wisconsin election officials said transparency and existing checks showed the system caught and corrected the mistake.
The delay revived scrutiny of Milwaukee’s election administration after a 2024 absentee-ballot recount affecting 31,000 ballots and a 2020 flash-drive mistake that delayed about 169,000 absentee votes.