MADISON, Wis. — The mayor of Wisconsin’s capital city said Wednesday that she has placed the municipal clerk on leave as investigators work to determine how she failed to count almost 200 absentee ballots in the November election.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said in a statement that the city has launched an investigation and that she needed to suspend City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl to maintain public confidence in the clerk’s office. The mayor added that the city will spare no expense to ensure every vote is counted heading into the swing state’s spring election. The state Elections Commission also is investigating whether Witzel-Behl violated any state laws or abused her discretion.
The uncounted ballots did not change the results of any races but four Madison voters whose ballots weren’t counted filed claims last week for $175,000 each from the city and Dane County, the first step toward initiating a lawsuit.
The mayor’s spokesperson, Dylan Brogan, said Witzel-Behl will continue to be paid during her suspension. She makes $152,300 annually. No listing for her personal contact information could be immediately found.
The suspension comes with the state’s April 1 general election just weeks away. The highest-profile race is between conservative Brad Schimel and liberal Susan Crawford for an open state Supreme Court seat. The outcome will determine the ideological balance of the court as it ponders cases involving abortion, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries. Early voting begins next week.
Rhodes-Conway said in her statement that she has appointed City Attorney Michael Haas as interim city clerk and that she expects he will ensure the election runs smoothly in Madison. Haas has previously worked as administrator and attorney for the state elections commission.
Aides for Democratic and Republican legislative leaders didn’t immediately respond to messages Wednesday inquiring about whether Witzel-Behl’s suspension has affected their confidence in how the city will conduct the spring election.
According to commission investigators, Wiztel-Behl’s office discovered 67 unprocessed absentee ballots in a courier bag that had been placed in a security cart. The discovery came on Nov. 12, seven days after the election, while county workers were conducting the official count of election results.