
Nearly 200 absentee ballots were found missing in Wisconsin weeks after the November 2024 general election, a discovery that has raised serious concerns about election integrity. The missing ballots, located during the post-election reconciliation process, and while officials have assured the public that no race results were affected, the incident underscores the potential for greater issues with absentee ballots.
On December 20, 2024, the City of Madison Clerk’s Office reported to the state election board that it had found 193 absentee ballots in sealed carrier containers. The discovery was part of routine post-election checks. While election officials insisted that no races had been altered, the oversight raises questions about how many ballots may be overlooked in future elections.
🚨Madison Clerk's Office announced nearly 200 absentee ballots were not counted in November's election.
First duplicate ballots, and now this…
When is Madison going to clean up its act on election integrity?
— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) December 27, 2024
The City of Madison has committed to implementing new safeguards to prevent future errors. Absentee ballot envelope seal numbers will be checked on Election Day to ensure that every absentee vote is counted. The Clerk’s Office believes these measures will help restore confidence in the system and prevent such mistakes from recurring.
Nearly 200 absentee ballots went uncounted in November election in Wisconsin https://t.co/oJuOzkisjG
— Team CRUSH ✝️ 🇺🇸 (@NorCalCrush) December 27, 2024
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, who expressed regret over the oversight, has vowed to take corrective action. “We will conduct a thorough review of the city’s election policies to ensure this type of mistake does not happen again,” Rhodes-Conway said. She emphasized that her office was committed to maintaining a high standard of election integrity in the city.
We have the same problem with the Baldwin and Hovde race for the Senate here in Wisconsin. Hovde was leading up to 1pm by a healthy margin then there was a Dump of some 'found' ballots 800,000 to be exact. Two of the biggest districts has 150% and 200% of the Voters… https://t.co/OnaJGLs3T1
— Jim Murphy (@VideoPod) November 20, 2024
The issue of absentee ballot handling has been a contentious topic in recent years, particularly following President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud after the 2020 election. While no evidence was found to support his claims, the concerns raised by incidents like the one in Wisconsin highlight the ongoing vulnerabilities in the election process.
GOP Senate candidate Eric Hovde of Wisconsin says he was ahead on Election Night, but then suddenly lost the lead when his opponent won "nearly 99%" of ballots dumped at 4AM in Milwaukee.
He said a precincts in Milwaukee having "over 200%" turnout.
pic.twitter.com/yt3Qwl3NgR— Donald Ayibiowu (@AyibiowuDonald) November 12, 2024