Latest news with #WisconsinElectionsCommission
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Uncounted ballots, thousands of cookies and the role of WEC: The latest on Madison clerk investigation
MADISON - The city and Wisconsin Elections Commission are at odds after nearly 200 ballots went uncounted in the 2024 presidential election while the city election clerk took vacation time to bake thousands of cookies. The city contends the Wisconsin Elections Commission does not have the authority to order the tasks and changes in practice, which the commissioners discussed at a July meeting. But commission staff attorneys say the actions by the former clerk warrant such orders, and state law allows the commission to issue them. Madison City Attorney Michael Haas, a former administrator of the state elections commission, said his understanding of the commission's authority is that it is "limited to ordering a local election official to comply with the election laws.""When the Commission is presented with an error that can be corrected in real time, such as a decision whether to certify nomination papers or to order a recall election, the Commission is well within its authority to order local officials to take immediate action to conform their conduct to the law," Haas wrote in an Aug. 6 letter to WEC attorney Angela Sharpe."But regardless of whether there is still an opportunity to fix the error (and here there is not), the Commission's authority does not extend to requiring the future implementation of specific procedures in excess of those required in the statutes." Madison attorney says Election Commission orders would not improve how elections are run Haas said the orders require Madison clerk staff to perform duties not mandated in other example Haas noted is in the commission's second proposed order, which requires the Madison clerk to provide WEC with a detailed plan showing which clerk staffer is responsible for each task outlined in state law and naming back-up staffers who will take over those roles in the event of absences. "While this idea may seem wise in theory, it is a broad mandate that clearly interferes with the authority of the municipal clerk and there are reasons why it is likely not an exercise conducted by any of Wisconsin's 1,850 municipalities, especially those with Clerk's staff of any significant size," Haas wrote. Haas said the city continues to overhaul its practices to ensure all votes are counted properly and that the 2024 episode does not occur again. He said requiring Madison to perform tasks other municipalities don't "runs the risk of increasing, rather than decreasing, inconsistency of local election practices." Orders "created in a vacuum" that are not required by statute is not a good approach for making improvements, he wrote."That approach tends to put the responsibility on the Commission to account for all aspects of local election administration and decision points related to staffing, budgeting, resources and supervision, a result that I believe we can agree is not productive, appropriate or sustainable." Elections Commission says Madison issues were 'structural' and need its intervention The potential action from the state's top election officials comes after a commission investigation found former Madison Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl acted unlawfully when she failed to ensure nearly 200 absentee ballots were counted during the 2024 presidential findings that were released in July in a scathing report outlined how Witzel-Behl refused to acknowledge "significant errors" in how absentee ballots were handled and did not take any action after learning 193 ballots went uncounted — instead going on vacation. Emails obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel under the state's public records law show after Witzel-Behl learned uncounted ballots were discovered, she opted to take vacation time to bake thousands of cookies for dozens of city offices and the Wisconsin Elections Commission. "The seriousness of Clerk Witzel-Behl's actions, and the fact that it resulted in almost 200 voters being disenfranchised, warrants a detailed order from the Commission correcting her office's policies and procedures, and ensuring those issues are actually fixed before the next statewide election," Sharpe wrote in a memo to commissioners ahead of the Aug. 15 meeting. "It was clear from the investigation that some of the contributing factors did not rest solely with Clerk Witzel-Behl and included actions of the City Clerk staff, as well as structural problems in that office," Sharpe wrote. "Staff believe it is necessary to require the City Clerk's office to affirmatively correct specific problems to ensure that they do not persist in future elections."Sharpe said commission staff do not believe the purpose of state law governing such actions "is achieved by allowing a municipal clerk, whose actions were found to be contrary to law and an abuse of discretion, to correct their own actions entirely unsupervised by the Commission by being told simply not to do it again." The Wisconsin Elections Commission is scheduled to meet Friday, Aug. 15, to discuss the proposed orders for the Madison clerk's office. Investigation into uncounted ballots is first in commission's history Don Millis, a Republican elections commissioner, said the discovery of the cookie baking, which was first reported by Votebeat, made the episode "more outrageous − her neglect." "It seems outrageous that she couldn't be bothered to put down the cookie cutter and come to the office to figure out why, initially, 68 voters' ballots weren't counted and then eventually 193 ballots weren't counted," Millis said. "To me that's just dereliction of duties." "The two biggest problems are you had some people not able to exercise their right to vote − and it's terrible for those people − but it just undermines confidence in our elections," he said. "At a time when we have all the tools at our disposal to make sure that everyone's counted. There is no fraud or very little fraud − we seem to have mistakes like this. It just seems like people didn't care." WEC launched the investigation into the Madison clerk's office after commissioners learned the 193 ballots had not been counted. The probe lasted six months while commission staff reviewed nearly 2,000 pages of documents and conducted 13 depositions of city and county staff. It was the first time WEC used its investigative authority in the commission's eight-year history. Ann Jacobs, the Democratic chairwoman of the commission, and Millis, a Republican-appointed commissioner, conducted the depositions. Both are attorneys. Among the commission's investigative findings included learning that two bags of uncounted absentee ballots likely never made it to wards to be counted and may have been added to a ballot storage cart and supply tote after being discovered. Chief inspectors at the two wards with uncounted ballots credibly testified they did not see bags containing the ballots in their materials on Election Day. Witzel-Behl did not act urgently to count the ballots after discovering them, even though they still could have been included in vote tallies at the time, according to the investigation. Haas is asking the commission to seek an opinion from Attorney General Josh Kaul or the state Legislature's attorneys on the scope of their authority related to the orders. The uncounted ballots in Madison did not impact the results of any federal, state, or local race or referendum question in the November 2024 election. More than 1.5 million absentee ballots were cast in the election and results were reviewed during the weeks-long certification process at the city, county and state levels. Molly Beck can be reached at This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Madison objects to WEC orders over clerk who didn't count ballots Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Roughly 192,000 Wisconsin voter registrations deactivated during routine maintenance
The Wisconsin Elections Commission has deactivated over 192,000 voter registrations through the legally required four-year maintenance process, according to an Aug. 1 press release. The 192,369 individuals deactivated had not voted in the past four years and did not respond to mailing regarding their registration status, said Meagan Wolfe, WEC's administrator. The commission is required by Wisconsin law to conduct voter record maintenance every two years to identify individuals and deactivate their registration status unless they notify their clerk with a desire to remain registered. Wolfe said maintenance review helps ensure the integrity of the state's voter database. She said individuals whose registration status is deactivated must re-register to vote at their current residence and can no longer vote using their inactive record. 'Maintaining accurate voter rolls is a year-round priority,' Wolfe said in the release. 'Through the four-year maintenance process and ongoing collaboration with local election officials, we ensure that the voter registration database reflects current, eligible voters by deactivating those who have moved, passed away, or have otherwise become inactive.' In June, WEC identified over 202,000 registered individuals with no voting record since the November 2020 presidential election. The commission sent "Notice of Suspension" postcards to these individuals, asking if they would like to remain active on the statewide voter list. Of the 202,000 postcards mailed, 9,501 voters responded by mailing a return postcard to their municipal clerk indicating they wanted to remain active. Voters who did not respond or whose postcard was returned as undeliverable were deactivated from the list. 2025 numbers are higher than past three counts There hasn't been a consistent uptick in deactivation numbers in recent years, but the 192,000-plus voter registrations deactivated in 2025 is greater than the 2023, 2021 and 2019 totals. In 2023, the number of voter registrations deactivated was 108,378. That year, 116,051 notices were mailed. In 2021, 186,982 voter registrations were deactivated and 174,307 notices were mailed. In 2019, 113,314 registrations were deactivated. 95,939 notices were mailed to voters. Numbers from 2025 four-year voter record maintenance: Total number of notices mailed: 202,593 Number of notices that were returned requesting continuation of registration: 9,501 Number of notices that were returned as undeliverable: 50,463 Number of voters mailed a notice who requested cancellation of registration: 13 Number of voters mailed a notice who clerks determined to be deceased: 657 Number of voters mailed a notice who clerks deactivated for reasons other than being deceased or at the voter's request: 744 Number of duplicate voter records identified and merged together: 358 Number of voters who did not respond to the notice: 142,629 Total number of voters mailed a notice whose status changed from eligible to ineligible: 192,369 Contact Mia Thurow at mthurow@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Elections Commission deactivates roughly 192,000 voters Solve the daily Crossword
Winnipeg Free Press
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Wisconsin elections officials find clerk broke laws over uncounted ballots
MADISON, Wis . (AP) — Wisconsin elections officials declared Thursday that the former clerk of the state's capital city broke several laws related to not counting nearly 200 absentee ballots in the November presidential election, but they stopped short of recommending that criminal charges be brought. The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 to accept a report finding that the former Madison clerk broke five election laws. But the investigation was not a criminal probe and the commission does not have the power to bring charges. The report does not recommend that prosecutors do so. Charges could be brought by the Dane County attorney's office or the state Department of Justice. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said his office had not received a referral, but if it did it would review it. DOJ spokesperson Riley Vetterkind did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on whether it would be bringing charges. No outcome of any race was affected by the missing ballots. Maribeth Witzel-Behl resigned as Madison city clerk in April amid investigations into the missing ballots. Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs, a Democrat, called the incident a 'rather shocking dereliction of just ordinary responsibility.' Republican Commissioner Bob Spindell, who cast the lone vote against accepting the report, said he blamed the problem on an extremely complicated system in the clerk's office and poor management. 'It's not something I think the clerk should be crucified for,' he said. The investigation determined that two bags of uncounted absentee ballots likely never made it to the poll sites where they should have been counted. 'There was just no tracking of these absentee ballots,' Jacobs said. The clerk's office did not notify the Wisconsin Elections Commission of the oversight until Dec. 18, almost a month and a half after the election and well after results were certified on Nov. 29. The elections commission report concluded that the former clerk broke state law for failing to properly supervise an election; not providing the most recent current registration information for pollbooks in two wards; improperly handing the return of absentee ballots; not properly canvassing the returns as it pertained to the 193 uncounted ballots; and failing to provide sufficient information for the municipal board of canvassers to do its work. The report blamed a 'confluence of errors' and said that Madison did not have procedures in place to track the number of absentee ballots going to a polling place. It also said there was a 'complete lack of leadership' in the clerk's office. 'These are mistakes that could have been avoided,' said Republican commissioner Don Millis. Madison city attorney and interim clerk Michael Haas said the city did not contest the findings of the report. 'The most important asset we have is the trust of the voters and that requires complete transparency and open coordination with partners when mistakes happen,' Haas said in testimony submitted to the commission. 'That did not happen in this case.' Madison has already implemented numerous safeguards and procedures that were in place for elections earlier this year to ensure that all eligible absentee ballots are accounted for, Haas said. The recommendations in the report for further actions exceed what is required under state law and are not within the authority of the commission to order, Hass testified. He urged the commission to delay a vote. The commission voted unanimously to give Madison until Aug. 7 to respond before voting a week later on whether to order additional steps to be taken. Four voters whose ballots weren't counted have filed claims for $175,000 each, the first step toward a class-action lawsuit. Their attorney attended Thursday's hearing but did not testify.
The Independent
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Wisconsin elections officials find clerk broke laws over uncounted ballots
Wisconsin elections officials declared Thursday that the former clerk of the state's capital city broke several laws related to not counting nearly 200 absentee ballots in the November presidential election, but they stopped short of recommending that criminal charges be brought. The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 to accept a report finding that the former Madison clerk broke five election laws. But the investigation was not a criminal probe and the commission does not have the power to bring charges. The report does not recommend that prosecutors do so. Charges could be brought by the Dane County attorney's office or the state Department of Justice. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said his office had not received a referral, but if it did it would review it. DOJ spokesperson Riley Vetterkind did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on whether it would be bringing charges. No outcome of any race was affected by the missing ballots. Maribeth Witzel-Behl resigned as Madison city clerk in April amid investigations into the missing ballots. Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs, a Democrat, called the incident a 'rather shocking dereliction of just ordinary responsibility." Republican Commissioner Bob Spindell, who cast the lone vote against accepting the report, said he blamed the problem on an extremely complicated system in the clerk's office and poor management. 'It's not something I think the clerk should be crucified for,' he said. The investigation determined that two bags of uncounted absentee ballots likely never made it to the poll sites where they should have been counted. 'There was just no tracking of these absentee ballots," Jacobs said. The clerk's office did not notify the Wisconsin Elections Commission of the oversight until Dec. 18, almost a month and a half after the election and well after results were certified on Nov. 29. The elections commission report concluded that the former clerk broke state law for failing to properly supervise an election; not providing the most recent current registration information for pollbooks in two wards; improperly handing the return of absentee ballots; not properly canvassing the returns as it pertained to the 193 uncounted ballots; and failing to provide sufficient information for the municipal board of canvassers to do its work. The report blamed a 'confluence of errors' and said that Madison did not have procedures in place to track the number of absentee ballots going to a polling place. It also said there was a 'complete lack of leadership' in the clerk's office. 'These are mistakes that could have been avoided," said Republican commissioner Don Millis. Madison city attorney and interim clerk Michael Haas said the city did not contest the findings of the report. 'The most important asset we have is the trust of the voters and that requires complete transparency and open coordination with partners when mistakes happen,' Haas said in testimony submitted to the commission. 'That did not happen in this case.' Madison has already implemented numerous safeguards and procedures that were in place for elections earlier this year to ensure that all eligible absentee ballots are accounted for, Haas said. The recommendations in the report for further actions exceed what is required under state law and are not within the authority of the commission to order, Hass testified. He urged the commission to delay a vote. The commission voted unanimously to give Madison until Aug. 7 to respond before voting a week later on whether to order additional steps to be taken. Four voters whose ballots weren't counted have filed claims for $175,000 each, the first step toward a class-action lawsuit. Their attorney attended Thursday's hearing but did not testify.
Washington Post
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Former Wisconsin clerk who failed to count ballots broke laws, the state's elections commission says
MADISON, Wis. — A 'confluence of errors' including unlawful actions by the former clerk in Wisconsin's capital city led to nearly 200 absentee ballots not being counted in the November presidential election, an investigation by the state elections commission released Wednesday concluded. Maribeth Witzel-Behl resigned as Madison city clerk in April amid investigations by the city and the Wisconsin Elections Commission into the missing ballots. No outcome of any race was affected by the missing ballots.
