Americans are tired of the funny business surrounding our elections. But it doesn’t look like it’s going to end anytime soon.
And now this Dem stronghold in a major swing state just had a massive election security scandal.
Up to 2,000 voters in Madison, Wisconsin, a key Democratic stronghold, were mistakenly sent duplicate absentee ballots, city spokesperson Dylan Brogan confirmed on Tuesday.
However, none of the ballots had been returned, all affected voters were being contacted, and multiple safeguards were in place to ensure that only one ballot per voter would be counted.
“This was a mistake,” Brogan explained.
“The clerk’s office moved to rectify it as quickly as possible.”
The error in Madison, part of a battleground state, prompted U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican and supporter of former President Donald Trump, to demand answers.
Though his district does not include Madison, Tiffany expressed concerns over the mistake, seeking clarity on the situation.
“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.
This development comes amidst ongoing scrutiny of election procedures in pivotal states like Wisconsin, which Trump lost in 2020.
Despite recounts, audits, and court rulings confirming President Joe Biden’s win in the state, claims of election fraud continue to circulate.
Trump, who maintains his baseless claim of victory in the 2020 election, is campaigning for a 2024 comeback.
Meanwhile, Brogan said Madison election clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl was working on a detailed response to Tiffany’s letter, emphasizing the city’s commitment to transparency.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Tom Tiffany or who it is, we want everyone to know what happened,” Brogan said.
The error occurred when two identical data files were merged, doubling the list of names and addresses, resulting in up to 2,000 duplicate ballots being mailed in one ward before the mistake was caught.
The clerk’s office has since been contacting affected voters to alert them to the error and to ensure they submit only one ballot.
Brogan added that safeguards are in place to prevent double voting: the duplicate ballots have identical barcodes, so if two ballots are submitted, only the first scanned will be counted.
Additionally, once a ballot is scanned, the voter is marked in the poll book as having submitted an absentee ballot, preventing them from submitting a second.
As of Monday, Madison had issued 27,421 absentee ballots, none of which had been returned, according to the state elections commission.
Brogan confirmed that none of the duplicate ballots had been returned as of that time.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
