A damming investigation has revealed that dozens of absentee ballots went uncounted in Madison after the 2024 election—raising serious concerns in a pivotal swing state.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission launched a formal probe earlier this year, uncovering that 193 absentee ballots—voters’ private voices—were overlooked in the November vote. The ballots were found too late, and officials only reported them in mid-December, well after election results were certified.
The probe focused on Manchester’s former City Clerk, Maribeth Witzel-Behl, who oversaw absentee vote processing. Investigators found key failures in basic procedures and leadership in her office.
Commissioners were blunt: “This feels like a complete lack of leadership and a refusal to be where the buck stops. You don’t get to put your head in the sand for weeks. … I am genuinely shocked by this timeline.” — Chair Ann Jacobs.
“You’re telling the world that these [voters] didn’t vote in what many thought was the most consequential election of our lifetime,” Commissioner Don Millis added, calling the oversight a “travesty.”
The missed ballots came in two batches: one of 68 found on November 12 and another of 125 found in December. Either could have been counted had they been properly reported.
However, staff failed to alert county or state officials promptly. City emails show Witzel‑Behl only directed staff to notify the state “if” problems arose—but no one acted until December 18, after certification.
The commission’s report criticized lax internal tracking: missing courier-bag logs, no headcount checks, and no backup plan to flag errors.
Even more troubling, the report details a major breach in ballot security. A door was left unlocked at the building where absentee ballots were stored. An “unauthorized person” was later found inside, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday.
“This profound failure undermines public confidence in elections,” the commission said. “It is essential that every voter knows their properly-cast ballot will be counted.”
The former clerk was suspended and later resigned in the spring of 2025.
Though the commission says the uncounted ballots wouldn’t have changed the outcome of any federal, state, or local races, the revelations hit hard in a state where elections are often decided by razor-thin margins. Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2024 by fewer than 30,000 votes. With this many ballots missing in just one city, the report raises the question: how many more went uncounted elsewhere?
At a tense March meeting, commissioners authorized depositions of Madison staff—including Witzel‑Behl—and issued statewide warnings to other clerks, ahead of upcoming elections.
