Madison, Wis. (AP) – The mayor of the capital of Wisconsin said on Wednesday that she has placed the municipal clerk on leave, because researchers work to determine how she could count nearly 200 absent ballot papers in the November elections.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conaway said in a statement that the city started an investigation and that she had to suspend Stadsklerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl to maintain the public in the clerk's office. The mayor added that the city will not save any costs to ensure that each vote is counted on the way to the spring state spring elections. The State Elections Committee also investigates whether Witzel-Behl has violated all state laws or has abused its discretion.
The countless ballot papers did not change the results of races, but four Madison -voters whose ballot papers were not counted last week, for $ 175,000 from the city and Dane County, the first step in the direction of starting a court case.
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The mayor of the mayor, Dylan Brogan, said that Witzel-Behl will be paid during her suspension. She earns $ 152,300 annually. No list could be found for its personal contact details.
The suspension is supplied with the general elections of the State on 1 April only a few weeks away. The highest winning race is between conservative Brad Schimel and Liberal Susan Crawford for an open chair from the Supreme Court. The outcome will determine the ideological balance of the Court, since it reflects on abortion, the power of trade unions in the public sector, voting rules and boundaries of the district of congress. Early mood starts next week.
Rhodes-Conway said in her statement that she has appointed city lawyer Michael Haas as an interim city clerk and that she will expect that the elections will run smoothly in Madison. Haas has previously worked as a manager and lawyer for the State election committee.
AIDES for Democratic and Republican legislative leaders did not immediately respond on Wednesday to reports in which they asked whether the suspension of Witzel-Behl has influenced their confidence in how the city will lead the spring elections.
According to researchers from the Commission, the Wiztel-Behl office discovered 67 unprocessed absent ballot papers in a courier bag that was placed in a security cart. The discovery came on November 12, seven days after the elections, while district workers carried out the official count of election results.
Witzel-Behl said she told two employees to inform the election committee, but not. A third city worker visited the Dane County Clerk's office to inform officials there, but that employee said that the province did not want the ballot papers for the count, known as a canvas. Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said he knew nothing about the countless ballot papers until they were reported in the media.
The Witzel-Behl office found another 125 countless absent ballot papers in a sealed courier bag in a supply bag on December 2. According to researchers from the committee, Witzel-Behl said that she did not inform district researchers because the canvas was completed. She added that on the basis of the province's response to the discovery of November 12, she didn't think the province would be interested.
The committee was only informed of one of the two discoveries on December 18. Witzel-Behl said the researchers that the employees she asked for informing the committee waited until the reconciliation was completed. This is a routine process in which Poll employees and election officials ensure the accuracy of an election, including checking the number of ballot papers spent during the polls against the number of voters. She could not explain why, according to the researchers, she had not contacted provincial officials or the election committee.
The election committee was expected to approve the guidelines during a meeting in the late afternoon on Wednesday to help help servants in the state, to ensure that they count every mood in the spring elections.
The recommendations include the thorough documentation of incidents on election day; Ensure that all materials are returned from the polling stations; checking the vouchers of voting equipment for everything that is possible; And immediately report errors to provincial officials and the committee.
