By Blake Wolf, OAN Staff
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 5:57 PM
Wisconsin Republican Representative Tom Tiffany called for an investigation into a “clerical error” that led to more than 2,000 voters in the battleground state receiving duplicate ballots.
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“The City of Madison prides itself on being extremely transparent in the administration of our elections,” said Dylan Brogan, the city's communications director. “We reached out to voters immediately the same day we discovered the clerical error.”
Brogan tried to downplay the serious errors, but Tiffany (R-Wis.) still called for an independent investigation into the matter.
“Madison city clerk said duplicate absentee ballots were sent out to one precinct yesterday,” Tiffany posted on X. “Now they're saying there are 10. We need an independent investigation now, not after the election.”
Wisconsin is a crucial battleground state, with President Joe Biden defeating President Trump there by fewer than 21,000 votes in 2020.
“This matter cannot just be swept under the rug,” Tiffany continued, “and those responsible must be held accountable.”
Tiffany also noted that the ballots did not have barcodes and included a photo of the ballots that were mailed out, questioning Madison city officials' “fail-safe” claims.
“Voters deserve clear answers about the full extent of this failure, how the City plans to restore public confidence in its ability to accurately administer elections, and assurances that those responsible will be held accountable,” Tiffany wrote in a letter to the city.
The office described the gaffe as a “data processing error” and argued that the identical barcodes acted as a safeguard because even if both ballots were scanned, only one would be accepted, even though there were two physical ballots. But Tiffany disputes that claim.
Brogan further stated that the mistake occurred “after two identical files were combined,” doubling the number of ballots that were supposed to be created. After the clerk's office discovered the mistake, they began contacting voters who received both ballots. Voters are being instructed to discard one ballot and turn in the other.
“Despite duplicate ballots being sent in, we will only accept one ballot from each voter and when the ballot is returned, we will verify that there is only one ballot,” Madison Deputy City Clerk Jim Berbick said.
Despite Tiffany's wishes, Brogan said there are no current plans for a third party to investigate the mistake, and instead intends to respond to all of the questions and concerns raised by Tiffany in her letter.
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