Response to Rep. Tiffany's Letter to the Madison Clerk's Office
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Dear Representative Tiffany,
Thank you for contacting the City of Madison Clerk’s Office. We welcome the opportunity to provide you with information regarding our office’s ballot processing error. In addition to answering your questions below, we have also attached a letter that was sent out to affected voters which apologizes for the mistake, explains in detail what occurred, and describes how election procedures ensure that only one ballot can be counted for each voter. We have also adjusted our pre-election procedures to prevent this mistake from happening again.
1. How was this error discovered?
Our office was alerted to the error by voters who received duplicate ballots. Our staff immediately investigated and determined what had happened.
2. Has the Clerk’s Office contacted law enforcement to investigate?
No. It is clear that this incident involved human error and involved no criminal conduct, so there is no reason to contact law enforcement.
3. Has the Clerk’s Office identified the person or persons responsible for the error?
Yes. 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 process has since been corrected to prevent a similar error from occurring.
4. Has the Clerk’s Office taken steps to preserve all emails, internal communications, handwritten notes, and other records related to the error?
Yes. We preserve records under Wisconsin’s Open Records law and City of Madison records retention policy.
5. What is the exact number of duplicate ballots that were sent out by the Clerk’s Office?
2,215
6. Which ward was affected by the error?
Absentee voters in several wards received duplicate ballots. This is because the affected ballots were in a single file of ballots with header code 41. The header code is the number in upper right corner of ballot which is unique to the offices on that ballot and the wards who receive that ballot style. The 2,215 affected ballots with that header code were located in the following wards: 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15.
7. Has the Clerk’s Office received any reports of duplicate ballots in other wards or conducted due diligence to ensure this is limited to a single ward?
No. As noted above, the affected ballots were limited to a single file with a single header code. We have checked and verified that no other batches were duplicated, nor have we received any reports from other voters.
8. Have any of the duplicate ballots been returned to the Clerk’s Office, and if so, have they been set aside pending an investigation?
No duplicate ballots have been returned to the Clerk’s Office.
9. Are unique ballot bar codes linked to individual, identifiable voter profiles?
Barcodes linked to the statewide voter registration system are printed on the ballot envelope, not the ballot. These types of barcodes are used across the state and the country. They are unique to an individual voter and printed on the absentee ballot return envelope so they can be scanned in once received by a Clerk’s office. This statewide system ensures accountability and allows voters to track whether their ballot was received by their Clerk’s 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. This task is made more challenging every day as the conduct of elections becomes more complex and as election officials have become the target of attacks that seek to undermine the confidence of voters in our election results. I trust that this response adequately addresses your questions. Thank you for your interest in City of Madison elections.
Sincerely,
Maribeth Witzel-Behl, City of Madison Clerk
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