MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin election officials voted Friday to force Madison city workers to sit for depositions as they try to learn more about how nearly 200 absentee ballots in November’s election went uncounted.
The uncounted ballots in the state’s capital city didn’t affect any results, but the Wisconsin Elections Commission still launched an investigation in January to determine whether Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl violated state law or abused her discretion. She didn’t notify the elections commission of the uncounted ballots until December, almost a month and a half after the election and well after the results were certified on Nov. 29.
Commissioners astounded at failure to count ballots
The commission hasn’t made a decision yet on whether Witzel-Behl acted illegally or improperly, but commissioners appeared flabbergasted at the failure to count the ballots as they reviewed the investigation during a meeting Friday. Chair Ann Jacobs was particularly incensed with Witzel-Behl for not launching her own in-depth probe immediately.
‘‘This feels like a complete lack of leadership and a refusal to be where the buck stops,‘’ Jacobs said. ‘’You don’t get to put your head in the sand for weeks. ... I am genuinely shocked by this timeline."
Don Millis said it was a ‘’travesty'' that the ballots were never counted. ‘’You’re telling the world that these 193 people didn’t vote in what many thought was the most consequential election of our lifetime,‘’ he said.
What did the commission decide to do?
The commission voted unanimously to authorize Jacobs and Millis to question Madison city employees in depositions — question-and-answer periods usually led by attorneys in which the subject gives sworn testimony. Jacobs said she would confer with Millis about who to question but Witzel-Behl will likely be one of the subjects.