WISCONSIN – After an audit of election results in Dane County, it was uncovered Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl failed to count 193 ballots cast by mail. As legal proceedings move forward and the threat of financial penalties looms for the city of Madison as well as persons implicated in the lawsuits as defendants, these parties have chosen to attempt to excuse their failure to count these votes at the expense of voter trust in the election system.
Attorneys from the city of Madison as well as the other defendants have argued that due to a 1985 law, absentee balloting is a “privelege,” not a right. They claim that by choosing to put ballots into a system that “can result in errors” these voters actually did not have their rights impinged on.
“The argument made by the city of Madison and former Clerk Witzel-Behl would set a dangerous precedent as we enter a midterm year with mail-in balloting across the country in the forefront of voter’s minds,” said Democracy Defense Project – WI board member Mike Tate. “Over and over again, claims of fraud have been shown to be minimal and are subsequently prosecuted, while cases of human error such as this result in more disenfranchised voters in our state. We must come together to improve our system instead of causing confusion through misinterpretation of a law meant to make absentee requirements clear.”
More information on the Democracy Defense Project can be found at https://www.democracydefenseproject.org/wi.
