MADISON – One day after the Wisconsin Elections Commission moved to initiate an investigation into the discovery of 193 uncounted absentee ballots in the City of Madison during the November election, the commission has now made public what they intend to learn from that investigation.
A copy of open records requests made public Friday includes questions for Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl concerning the manner in which the ballots were first discovered, when the City of Madison Municipal Board of Canvassers was first notified the ballots weren’t included in the tally, and if at any time the elections commission was notified of the issue prior to the official state canvass completion on November 29th, 2024.
The commission has also requested records, logs and documents used by the City of Madison Clerk’s Office to track log carrier envelopes and courier bags, as well as for all internal communications between clerk’s office staff between November 12th and December 26th.
Witzel-Behl said Thursday she intends to fully cooperate with the investigation and will provide documents needed by the Commission.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Wisconsin Elections Commission launches investigation regarding uncounted Madison absentee ballots
A timeline provided by Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway December 26th indicates the issue stems from the discovery of a sealed courier bag with two sealed envelopes containing 125 unprocessed absentee ballots on November 12th. A second sealed courier bag containing a sealed envelope with 68 unprocessed absentee ballots was then discovered on December 3rd.
Despite the discovery of the first group of unprocessed ballots, the Wisconsin Election’s Commission certified the results of the election on November 29th. WEC was emailed by the city for guidance on the matter on December 18th, according to the provided timeline.
During Thursday’s commission vote, Chair Ann Jacobs noted the importance of uncovering the how and the why of the situation, given the upcoming state Supreme Court election that will determine the balance of power on the Wisconsin high court for the second time in three years.
“We are the final canvass, we are the final arbiters of the votes in the state of Wisconsin,” said Jacobs, who was one of many on the commission to question why the clerk’s office waited a month-and-a-half to inform the body of the issues.
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