Madison clerk resigns amid internal investigation

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The municipal clerk in Wisconsin’s capital city has quit amid investigations into how she failed to count nearly 200 absentee ballots in the November elections.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway‘s office announced City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl‘s resignation on Monday. The mayor’s spokesperson, Dylan Brogan, said Witzel-Behl submitted her resignation on Thursday but the mayor had to wait to announce it because Witzel-Behl’s contract granted her several days to change her mind.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission launched an investigation in early January after learning that Witzel-Behl had failed to count 192 ballots and didn’t inform the commission until Dec. 18, more than a month after the election and weeks after canvassing was complete.

The ballots didn’t affect the outcome of any races or referenda. But four Madison voters whose ballots went uncounted have filed claims for $175,000 each from the city and Dane County, the first step toward a lawsuit. It was another blunder for Witzel-Behl after she announced in September that her office erroneously sent out up to 2,000 duplicate absentee ballots.

The mayor suspended her in March and launched an internal investigation, saying that the move was necessary to maintain public confidence in the clerk’s office. Brogan said that investigation has ended and a report could be released as soon as the end of April. The elections commission is scheduled to discuss its investigation at a meeting Thursday.

Witzel-Behl made $152,300 annually. City Attorney Mike Haas has been serving as interim city clerk since she was suspended. The April 1 spring election appears to have gone off smoothly under his supervision.