Election integrity took another hit in Wisconsin as officials revealed nearly 200 absentee ballots were left uncounted after the November 2024 general election. The missing ballots, discovered during post-election reconciliation, did not alter the outcome of the election but could have had a serious impact. The incident raises alarming questions about the accuracy and security of the voting system.
On December 20, 2024, the City of Madison Clerk’s Office reported the 193 missing absentee ballots to the state election board. The ballots were found sealed in carrier containers while the clerk’s office was conducting its routine post-election cleanup. Despite assurances that the oversight did not affect the outcome, the discovery has stirred concerns about how many more ballots could go unnoticed 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
“We are committed to making sure this never happens again,” said the Clerk’s Office, which promised to implement new procedures to ensure better tracking of absentee ballots. As part of the new measures, absentee envelope seal numbers will be verified on Election Day to guarantee that every legitimate vote is counted. Officials in Madison are confident that these steps will prevent future errors.
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 expressed regret over the oversight, calling it a failure to meet the high standards voters expect. She vowed to take corrective action to improve election policies in the city. “We must do everything necessary to maintain a high standard of election integrity,” she said, committing to a thorough review of the city’s processes.
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 discovery of these uncounted ballots underscores the vulnerability of the election system, which President Donald Trump has long warned about. While no widespread fraud was found in 2020, Trump’s concerns about election integrity and transparency have been magnified by incidents like this. His push for election reforms could be key in restoring public trust.
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
