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MADISON, WI (WSAU) – The clerk of the city of Madison has responded to Congressman Tom Tiffany’s letter asking about over 2,200 duplicate ballots that were recently mailed out to voters.
According to the response from the clerk’s office, the person/persons responsible for the error has been identified and no criminal investigation will be conducted, saying, “This was a simple data processing error made by one of the many dedicated, professional staff who work for the city, and as noted above (the statement that no criminal act occurred), the process has since been corrected to prevent a similar error from occurring.”
The clerk’s office further stated that the 2,215 affected ballots with that header code were located in Madison area wards 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, and at this point, none of the duplicate ballots have been returned to the office.
“In closing, I would simply note that elections are conducted by humans and occasionally human error occurs. When errors occur, we own up to them, correct them as soon as possible, and are transparent about them – precisely as we have done here. Our staff works incredibly hard to conduct elections in a professional, nonpartisan, and fair manner and works to continually assess and improve our processes,” the office’s statement continued.
Since sending the initial letter, Congressman Tiffany has pointed toward discrepancies in the clerk’s office statements, such as originally claiming the error only affected one ward and stating that the barcode was located on the ballot to now saying the barcode is located on the envelope, saying in a post on X, “The Madison Clerk’s Office original press release said nothing about a barcode on the envelope. They claimed it was on the ballot, and only changed their quote after we exposed it. Why do they keep editing their statements and press releases?”
Tiffany also requested the clerk’s office reconsider their decision not to have a third-party investigation into the matter saying, “If you are truly committed to transparency, I hope you will reconsider your opposition to an independent inquiry, make all related records public, and move quickly to hold those responsible to account, and to do so before – not after – the election.”
This incident comes as other crucial swing states in November’s election, such as Georgia, have taken steps to ensure confidence in their state’s results by implementing a policy of hand-counting ballots, which is common practice in most countries around the world such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Spain, and many others.
A February Gallup poll found that most Americans were either moderately (29%) or extremely (34%) confident in the accuracy of the ballots cast and counted in this year’s midterm elections. The total of 63% is a slight improvement above the all-time low of 59% that was reached in 2008 and 2020.
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