MADISON, Wis. — The City of Madison Clerk’s Office has found that nearly 200 absentee ballots cast in the November 5th general election were not properly processed.
In total, the Clerk’s Office revealed Thursday that 193 absentee ballots from Wards 56, 65 and 68 were discovered during post-election reconciliation and clean-up. The Clerk’s Office says the number of uncounted absentee ballots was not enough to affect the outcome of any race or referendum on the ballot.
“While the discovery of these unprocessed absentee ballots did not impact the results of any election or referendum, a discrepancy of this magnitude is unacceptable,” Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said. “This oversight is a significant departure from the high standard our residents expect and must be addressed and avoided in future elections.”
A timeline provided by Mayor Rhodes-Conway 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.
The City will also be reaching out to each of the affected community members individually to let them know and apologize for the oversight.
“We plan to conduct a thorough review of the City’s election policies and procedures to ensure this kind of oversight does not recur,” Mayor Rhodes-Conway said. “My office is committed to taking whatever corrective action is necessary to maintain a high standard of election integrity in Madison, and to provide ongoing transparency into that process.”
This is a developing story. An update and/or follow-up may be issued as further information is revealed.
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