Statement on Wisconsin Election Commission Investigation

Dear Commissioners,

On behalf of the City of Madison, I appreciate the attention you are giving to the uncounted absentee ballots discovered by the Clerk’s Office. As I have stated, this oversight, and the time it took to bring it to the attention of other City officials and the WEC is a significant departure from the high standard our residents expect and must be addressed and avoided in future elections. I agree with the WEC staff memorandum which states that an investigation can help provide transparency and accountability, as well as hopefully provide lessons that all Wisconsin clerks can learn to prevent similar errors in the future.

I have also pledged to conduct a thorough review of the City’s election policies and procedures to ensure that this kind of oversight does not happen again. However, I would not want any review that the city undertakes to delay or complicate the Commission’s efforts if it decides to initiate an investigation. Please feel free to contact me if my office can provide any assistance or if you would prefer that any City review wait until a WEC investigation is completed. I also note that the staff memorandum discusses obtaining documents from the city related to its election administration and possibly submitting public records requests for those documents. The City will certainly cooperate with any investigation and provide all requested and relevant documents without the need for the Commission to submit formal public records requests.

Thank you again for your attention to this matter.