Doug Schneider

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

It could be two months before the state knows how many 17-year-olds voted illegally in Wisconsin's presidential primary election, the head of the Government Accountability Board said Thursday.

Elections officials in Brown County have confirmed that at least six underage residents were able to cast ballots in the primary. The names of those individuals are being turned over to law-enforcement authorities for investigation as possible voter-fraud.

Brown County sheriff's deputies have begun an investigation, Sheriff John Gossage said.

Authorities surveyed by USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Thursday said they don't believe the underage voters intended to cast ballots illegally. But they said it would be up to investigators and the district attorney's office to determine if criminal acts were committed.

Each allegation of under-age voting would be considered on its own merits, Brown County District Attorney David Lasee said.

"I would not make any decision about issuing charges or not issuing charges until I’ve had the opportunity to review a referral and consider all of the facts and circumstances," he said. "Just as I would with any other type of referral."

Elsewhere in the state, there were reports of under-age votes in Hudson, the La Crosse area and in the Dunn County town of Grant,Kennedy said. He was not aware of reports of under-age voting in the state's largest cities, Milwaukee and Madison.

Kennedy was not aware of any the almost 3,900 races in Wisconsin on Tuesday that might have been affected by a handful of votes cast by under-age people, though he would not discount the possibility. He said he also has heard of 17-year-olds being urged to vote by the campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont. A campaign spokeswoman denied that claim on Wednesday.

Elections officials said claims that some 17-year-olds could vote were also disseminated on Facebook and Twitter. Wisconsin law requires a person to be at least 18 on the day he or she casts a ballot; a ruling reinforced by a judge's decision in a 2014 lawsuit against the state.

Still, reports continue to roll in from within the county and across the state that some teachers wrongly told students they could vote on if they would turn 18 by the Nov. 8 general election.

The problem of under-age people voting has officials who oversee the state's elections considering whether stricter measures should be taken this fall to reduce the chance it happens again.

"We had civics teachers telling 17-year-olds in some places that they could vote," said Kevin Kennedy, the GAB's director and general counsel. "Some of those folks were a little bit militant (when poll workers told them they couldn't vote). Maybe we need to start posting signs saying things like 'If you were born after this date in 1998, you are not yet eligible to vote.'"

In Brown County, under-age voters were able to cast ballots in Allouez, De Pere, Howard, Pulaski and Wrightstown, County Clerk Sandy Juno said.

Clerks in Ashwaubenon and Green Bay said some poll-workers were approached by teenagers who expected to vote.

"We had seven attempts at three different polling locations," said Ashwaubenon Village Clerk Patrick Moynihan Jr. "All (were) rebuffed. Further, we received a call from a mother who indicated that her child was told she may vote by a teacher."

Kennedy and clerks said it's possible that more under-age voting will be discovered as clerks enter information about people who registered at the polls Tuesday into a computer database. Clerks have until 30 days after the election to do so; Kennedy said the GAB should know the number of underage voters in the weeks following that deadline.

A person convicted of voter fraud under state law can be sentenced to up to 9 months in jail and a $10,000 fine. Documented voter fraud is rare in Wisconsin.

Kennedy said it's not surprising that a few votes may have been cast by people who should not have been voting, considering that the primary attracted 2 million-plus voters. But he said the state will work hard to improve the system.

"I tell people, 'don't expect perfection, but expect diligence,'" he said. "You have to expect that something is going to fall through the cracks."

dschneid@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow him on Twitter @PGDougSchneider

By the numbers

Some statistics on Wisconsin's presidential primary election:

3,888: Number of races in the state.

2.1 million: Approximate number of people who voted.

20,000-25,000: Number of poll workers who were needed

1,853: Number of municipal clerks who oversaw the election

SOURCE: Government Accountability Board