Village moves voting after gunshot closes polls

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A gunshot fired outside of a polling site Tuesday forced elections officials in a small Wisconsin village to move to their backup voting location, a county election official said.

Voting was delayed for about an hour and half in the village of Brooklyn after sheriff’s deputies locked down a community building that served as the village’s sole polling site, according to Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell.

A 75-year-old man was arrested two and a half hours after the incident was reported on suspicion of disorderly conduct while armed, Green County Sheriff Jeff Skatrud said in a news release. Local elections officials relocated to a public works building half a mile away, where voting will continue for the remainder of the day.

The Green County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that the suspect had not yet been charged.

The village has asked for a court order to extend voting hours by 90 minutes to accommodate voters who weren’t able to enter the polls while police responded. McDonell said he didn’t expect the disruption to prevent voters from casting their ballots and that the county would begin reporting results as planned Tuesday evening without waiting for voting to close in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn is home to about 1,500 residents, according to the 2020 census. The village is split between Dane and Green Counties, with about two-thirds of its residents living in Dane County.

Sheriff’s deputies from both counties responded Tuesday morning, according to Skatrud. There was no evidence that the gunshot was related to voting activities and there was no ongoing threat to public safety, he said.