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Over 2,000 voters in Madison, Wisconsin, received duplicate absentee ballots.
City officials in the Democratic stronghold apologized, calling it a “mistake.”
However, a Wisconsin GOP congressman has called for a probe into the matter.
“This was a mistake,” city spokesperson Dylan Brogan said, according to the Associated Press.
“The clerk’s office moved to rectify it as quickly as possible,” Brogan added.
“The City of Madison clerk said the duplicate absentee ballots were sent to one ward yesterday. Now, they say it’s 10. There needs to be an independent investigation now, not after the election,” Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) said.
BREAKING: The City of Madison clerk said the duplicate absentee ballots were sent to one ward yesterday.
Now, they say it’s 10.
There needs to be an independent investigation now, not after the election.
— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) September 25, 2024
Per Fox News:
Tiffany’s office noted how the Madison clerk’s office initially said duplicate ballots were sent to just one ward — but later came out saying the double ups span across all 10 “so their story changed.”
“This can’t just be swept under the rug,” Tiffany said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The people responsible for this need to be held accountable.”
President Biden won Wisconsin, a key battleground state, by fewer than 21,000 votes in 2020.
Deputy Clerk of the City of Madison Jim Verbick cited how “there was a human error that occurred,” impacting voters who had the same style or listed the same offices on their ballots, WKOW reported.
WATCH:
It’s been over 24 hours, and my office is still waiting on a response from the Madison Clerk’s Office regarding duplicate absentee ballots.
What started as a problem in 1 ward now spans at least 10.
These inconsistencies deserve answers and an independent investigation. pic.twitter.com/GAfJiYQKRH
— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) September 25, 2024
“They explained that, despite the error, the duplicate ballots have identical barcodes, preventing them from being counted more than once,” Newsweek stated.
“Although the Madison Clerk’s Office claims, ‘The voting system does not allow a ballot with the same barcode to be submitted,’ my office has proof that there is no barcode on the actual ballots. Here is a picture of the absentee ballots – NO BARCODE,” Tiffany wrote.
Here is a picture of the absentee ballots – NO BARCODE. pic.twitter.com/1ZepAFW5RK
— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) September 25, 2024
“Ballots in Wisconsin do not contain barcodes. Envelopes that absentee ballots are returned in do contain barcodes so the voter can track their ballot to ensure it was received,” the Associated Press noted.
“The barcodes also allow election officials to ensure that the same voter does not cast a ballot in-person on Election Day,” the outlet added.
Madison Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl changed an initial statement that did not specify the envelopes, instead of the ballots, containing the barcodes.
“There’s been many inconsistencies in what the Madison Clerk’s Office originally said about the duplicate absentee ballots to now. How can we trust them when they continue to change their statements?” Tiffany wrote.
“An independent, third-party investigation is needed to restore public trust,” he added.
There’s been many inconsistencies in what the Madison Clerk’s Office originally said about the duplicate absentee ballots to now.
How can we trust them when they continue to change their statements?
1 ward impacted
10 wards impacted
Barcode on ballot— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) September 26, 2024
From the Associated Press:
Tiffany later took credit for the clerk changing the wording on her initial statement.
“Why do they keep editing their statements and press releases?” Tiffany posted.
Madison city spokesperson Dylan Brogan said Thursday that he altered the wording of the statement for clarity before Tiffany questioned it by “parsing apart sentences.”
“The City routinely updates its website to provide as much clarity as possible,” Brogan said.
He called the mailing of duplicate absentee ballots “a simple mistake that we immediately rectified and it will have no impact on the election.”
“There are safeguards in place,” Brogan said. “The system worked.”
Ann Jacobs, the Democratic chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, rebuked Tiffany on X.
“I can’t tell if this is just profound lack of knowledge or the intentional farming of outrage,” she posted. “Both, by the way, are bad.”
Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore also responded to Tiffany’s post by telling him to “knock it off.”
“This is misinformation,” she posted on X. “You and I both have voted with absentee ballots in Wisconsin. You just did in the Aug 13 primary, and in 4 of the last 5 elections. We owe it to the people of Wisconsin to not spread falsehoods about election security.”
The clerk said in her response to Tiffany that 2,215 duplicate ballots were sent before the error was caught on Monday. No duplicate ballots have been returned, Witzel-Behl said. Once a ballot is received and the envelope barcode is scanned, if a second ballot is returned it will not be counted, she said.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.
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