Duplicate absentee ballots were mailed to almost 2,000 voters in Madison, the capital of Wisconsin; the city acknowledged that this “was a mistake.”
According to Madison city officials, 2,215 duplicate votes were distributed over ten wards. City officials asserted that the duplicate ballots could not be counted twice despite acknowledging their mistake.
“This was a mistake,” Madison city spokesperson Dylan Brogan stated. “On the day we found out a clerical error occurred, we immediately reached out to voters.”
Republicans are calling for an investigation into the ballot error in the Democratic stronghold, which also happens to be in a competitive state, among them is Wisconsin Representative Tom Tiffany.
“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,” Tiffany stated on Wednesday in a post on X.
“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,” Tiffany continued in a different post on X that included a picture of an absentee ballot.
🚨DEVELOPING: 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. pic.twitter.com/1ZepAFW5RK
— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) September 25, 2024
Madison city officials stated that: “The error affected only an isolated number of voters and was quickly caught and corrected so that it will not affect any other ballots going forward.”
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According to the clerk’s office, each voter has been contacted personally and advised to cast only one ballot and destroy the second one “to avoid any confusion.”
“The voter is also marked in the poll book as having submitted their absentee ballot as another safeguard against the voter submitting a second ballot,” as per the city.
Tiffany requested information from Madison city authorities on how and why the error was found in a letter she delivered on Tuesday.
“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,” according to the letter.
By: upi.com
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