“This was a mistake,” said Madison city spokesperson Dylan Brogan. “The clerk’s office moved to rectify it as quickly as possible.”
On Sept. 23, the City of Madison initially reported that “around 2,000” duplicate ballots had been sent to voters, raising concerns from Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.), who sent a letter to the city clerk seeking clarification on the total number of duplicate ballots issued.
In response, Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl released a statement on Sept. 25 confirming that 2,215 duplicate ballots had been sent out in Madison, a city that has heavily leaned Democratic in recent presidential elections.
Witzel-Behl explained that the issue was brought to their attention by voters who received the duplicates, prompting an immediate investigation. According to the city, no duplicate ballots have been returned.
The error was due to “a simple data processing mistake made by one of the many dedicated, professional staff who work for the City,” Witzel-Behl said, adding that steps have been taken to ensure the problem does not recur.
“It is clear that this incident involved human error and no criminal conduct, so there is no need to involve law enforcement,” Witzel-Behl added in response to Tiffany’s question about whether law enforcement was contacted. She also acknowledged that “human errors” sometimes occur but emphasized that city staff works diligently to conduct elections fairly, professionally, and nonpartisan, despite ongoing “attacks” aimed at undermining voter confidence in election results.
In the 2020 presidential election, officials narrowly certified Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump in Wisconsin, including in Madison, after two recount efforts. Tiffany referenced the 2020 election in his letter, suggesting that Madison has a “history of controversial and legally dubious election practices” and stressed the importance of transparency in addressing the current ballot error.
“Voters deserve clear answers regarding the full scope of this blunder, how the city plans to restore public confidence in its ability to accurately administer the election, and assurances that those responsible are held accountable,” Tiffany said.
Tiffany later posted a letter on social media, dated Sept. 26, rejecting the clerk’s explanation and calling for an “independent, third-party investigation” to restore public trust.
Brogan clarified that the error occurred when two identical files were merged, resulting in duplicate names and addresses. Approximately 2,000 duplicate ballots were mailed in one ward before the issue was caught and fixed, he said. The clerk’s office has been contacting voters individually to inform them of the error and instructing them to submit only one ballot. However, since the ballots have identical barcodes, if two ballots are submitted, only the first one scanned will be counted, Brogan explained.
As of Sept. 23, Madison had sent out 27,421 absentee ballots, and none had been returned, according to the state elections commission. Brogan reiterated that no duplicate ballots had been returned since the error was discovered.
