Home Elected Officials Paul Rusk, District 12 Supervisor

Paul Rusk, District 12 Supervisor

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Paul Rusk, District 12 Supervisor
Paul Rusk, District 12 Supervisor

To prepare for the many challenges coming with the 2020 spring presidential primary and fall presidential election, the Dane County Board recently upgraded the election specialist position in the county clerk’s office. Dane is consistently the highest turn-out county in Wisconsin, a closely divided purple state at the epicenter of foreign interference in our national elections. This key position will manage a special team focused on election security. Dane is a complicated county with local elections, including school and referendums in select communities, that must be managed well before, during and after Election Day, simultaneously with next year’s federal election.

With so much national attention focused on the importance of fair elections without foreign interference, it is fortunate that Dane County uses individual ballots, providing a paper trail if needed. Our polling places are well staffed with locally trained poll workers with each voter using an individual paper ballot. Should a recount be needed, the ballots can be reviewed individually. My late grandmother, born in 1899, started voting when women obtained the right to vote in 1920. She was 21. Like me, she would be pleased with our local process and appalled about foreign governments interfering in our electoral process.

In Dane County a scan of each ballot cast is available on the Dane County Clerk’s website following the election, which is considered a national best practice. There is also a separate document that shows how each vote was counted. This helps to prove each vote is individually counted and facilitates audits and recounts if needed. Election results are not official until the board of canvas meets soon after each election.

I urge each and every one of you to exercise your voting opportunity, which is crucial to the future of our democracy.

Supervisor Rusk can be reached at 249-9667 or rusk@countyofdane.com.