Congressman Derrick Van Orden's Claims of Election Manipulation in Milwaukee Debunked by Real-Time Data
Congressman Derrick Van Orden, a Republican representing western Wisconsin, has publicly claimed that a late absentee ballot drop in Milwaukee swung the Democratic primary for governor. He specifically stated that State Representative Francesca Hong was leading the race before a 2:30 a.m. ballot drop, after which she lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Van Orden alleged that 33,000 votes 'couldn’t be found' and that Crowley won by 3,000 votes. However, real-time election data from last Tuesday, as reported by CBS 58, contradicts these assertions. The data shows that Crowley was already ahead by over 2,100 votes before Milwaukee's absentee results were posted at 1:20 a.m. Once approximately 28,000 absentee votes were added, Crowley's lead increased to over 3,300 votes. Milwaukee election officials attributed the delay in reporting to a staffer pressing the wrong button on five vote-counting machines, exporting audit logs instead of election results. 
