Madison Clerk’s Office Correcting Duplicate Ballots

For Immediate Release
September 23, 2024

The Madison Clerk's Office is rectifying a data processing error that caused duplicate absentee ballots to be sent to around 2,000 voters. The error affected only voters in one ward and was quickly caught and corrected so that it will not affect any other ballots going forward.

The Clerk's office has been contacting voters individually to inform them of the error, caution them to submit only one ballot, and to destroy the second one to avoid any confusion. Because the duplicate ballots have identical barcodes, in the unlikely event that a voter submits two absentee ballots, only one can be counted. Once that barcode is scanned, the voting system does not allow a ballot with the same barcode to be submitted. The voter's signature in the poll book is another safeguard that prevents a voter from accidentally submitting two ballots.

Voters with remaining questions about their ballot should feel free to contact the Clerk's Office at 608-266-4601 or [email protected]. Any other inquiries should be sent to City Communications Manager Dylan Brogan.