The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted unanimously to open an investigation after nearly 200 absentee ballots in Madison were found uncounted.
Officials are seeking to determine whether Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl abused her discretion or failed to comply with state law, AP reports.
Commission members said they were concerned the clerk’s office didn’t inform them of the problem until late December, almost a month and a half after the election. Commission Chair Ann Jacobs certified Wisconsin’s election results on Nov. 29.
Witzel-Behl’s office said in a statement that the number of uncounted votes didn’t affect the outcome of any race or referendum on the ballots. But Jacobs said the oversight was “so egregious” that the commission must determine what happened and how it can be prevented as spring elections approach.
“We are the final canvassers,” Jacobs said. “We are the final arbiters of votes in the state of Wisconsin and we need to know why those ballots weren’t included anywhere.” (AP)
The commission first became aware of the uncounted ballots on Dec. 18 when Witzel-Behl’s staff told the commission that records indicated more ballots were received than tallied in three city wards.
The commission asked Witzel-Behl to provide a detailed statement, which she did two days later. The memo stated that on Nov. 12, the clerk’s office discovered 67 unprocessed ballots for Ward 65 and one unprocessed ballot for Ward 68 in a courier bag found in a vote tabulating machine.
The memo also stated that her office was reconciling ballots for Ward 56 on Dec. 3 when 125 unprocessed ballots were discovered in a sealed courier bag. Reconciliation is a post-election process in which officials account for every ballot created. That work begins immediately after an election. Clerks have 45 days to complete it.
The memo does not offer any explanation, saying only that the clerk’s office planned “to debrief these incidents and implement better processes.” (AP)
Recommended
A Dec. 26 statement from the clerk's office said in the "interest of full transparency" each voter affected will be notified and issued an apology letter.
"Moving forward, every polling location will receive a list of absentee envelope seal numbers that will be verified as counted on Election Day," the statement added. "The goal of the Clerk’s Office is that each eligible voter will be able to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted. Falling short of this goal for the November 2024 Election, we sincerely apologize to our voters and will strive to make sure this never happens again."
Join the conversation as a VIP Member