MADISON – For the first time in it’s eight-year history, the Wisconsin Elections Commission is formally launching an investigation into ballot irregularities after the discovery of nearly 200 uncounted absentee ballots in the City of Madison.
The investigation will focus on whether or not City of Madison Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl failed to comply with the law regarding the 193 ballots discovered after the conclusion of the 2024 General Election. The commission voted unanimously Thursday to summarize the findings of the investigation for the Commission at an upcoming meeting so that the Commission can provide further direction.
“Given the seriousness of what happened here [and] our lack of knowledge, and information that was not given to us in a timely fashion, I think we need to do something more formal,” said Commission Chair Ann Jacobs during a meeting Thursday on the matter. Jacobs said the commission’s questions regarding the investigation should be published later today.
The meeting notes indicate WEC retained some statutory investigative ability when its predecessor, the Government Accountability Board, was dissolved, though it has never previously exercised that authority.
Witzel-Behl said in a statement to the commission she intends to fully cooperate with the investigation and will provide documents needed by the Commission without requiring a formal public records request.
Attornery Angela Sharpe said Thursday an independent analysis confirmed reporting from the Madison clerk’s office that the uncounted ballots did not impact the outcome of any local or federal elections in November.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 193 absentee ballots found not properly processed in Madison
Still, several commissioners commented on a desire to know what led to the gap in time from the first discovery of the uncounted ballots to the initial reporting from the clerk’s office to the state elections commission.
“The issue is why was this not caught by the time of the local and county canvasses,” said WEC Commissioner Don Millis. “My assumption is either there was a failure to follow procedures, or our procedures aren’t good enough. My biggest concern is why it took a month-and-a-half, and that’s deeply disturbing.”
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.
Jacobs also noted the investigation was necessary given the upcoming spring Supreme Court race, remarking that several local and state elections are decided within the 200 vote margin.
Commissioner Robert Spindell attempted to file an amendment to the investigation proposal to include a separate investigation regarding ballot issues at Milwaukee’s central count on Election Night. Chair Jacobs ruled the motion was out of order since it was not part of the approved open session agenda for the Thursday meeting.
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