Law Forward has filed notice with Madison and Dane County it intends to seek damages in a class action lawsuit over the 193 absentee ballots the city failed to include in its results for the November 2024 election.
The progressive law firm represents four of the 193 voters whose ballots city election officials failed to find and tally on election night last fall. The notice states they plan to seek $175,000 for each affected voter. The current cap in state law is $50,000. The notice states the coming lawsuit plans to challenge that cap as unconstitutional.
Attorney Scott Thompson said the city’s actions subverted the right to vote.
“We believe this litigation sends a message to anyone who seeks to do something like that in Wisconsin. There is going to be a price to pay,” he said.
The notices of claim filed with the city and the county are the first steps in a possible class action lawsuit. If it proceeds, all 193 impacted voters will be notified and would have the opportunity to opt out of the action.
Madison election officials failed to notify the state immediately after discovering the existence of the 193 absentee ballots that weren’t included in the final canvass of the Nov. 5 results. The first batch of absentee ballots was discovered Nov. 12 and the second Dec. 3. Once the city notified the Elections Commission in late December, the state agency ordered an investigation into the Madison clerk to determine why the city failed to count the ballots on Election Day.
That action included a review of whether Maribeth Witzel-Behl failed to comply with the law or abused her discretion.
Madison spokesperson Dylan Brogan declined to comment on the specifics of the legislation. He stressed the steps Madison has taken to ensure something similar never happens again and pointed out the clerk’s office has issued a public apology and reached out to the affected voters.
“The City of Madison takes election integrity extremely seriously,” he said in a statement.
The Elections Commission will meet tomorrow on a staff report that outlined various steps election officials could’ve implemented to ensure the ballots weren’t missed in the first place.
The notice of claim states the plaintiffs plan to seek damages for “dignitary harm, suffering, the deprivation of their right to vote, punitive damages” and any other relief a jury deems appropriate.
