Wisconsin Republican calls for investigation into 2,000 duplicate ballots that went out in Madison

Republican Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany on Wednesday called for a local investigation into how 2,215 duplicate ballots mistakenly went out to voters in the state's capital of Madison.

Madison officials revealed the mistake on Tuesday but said that the duplicate ballots have the same barcode as the original ballots so they cannot be counted twice. The error occurred when officials accidentally merged two identical files, instead of merging two separate lists as intended, according to Fox News.

Tiffany sent a letter to Madison Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl about an investigation, demanding "answers and transparency" on the incident, claiming it was not the first time that the state capital engaged in "dubious" and "controversial" election practices.

"Voters deserve clear answers regarding the full scope of this blunder, how the city plans to restore public confidence in its ability to accurately administer the election, and assurances that those responsible are held accountable," Tiffany wrote.

He questioned Witzel-Behl on how the error occurred in the first place, whether any of the duplicate ballots have been returned to the clerk's office, and whether the clerk's office has identified the person who made the mistake.

City officials claimed that the mistake was "human error," and told voters to destroy one of the ballots and use the other to vote. A total of 10 wards were affected.

"A mistake was made, the Clerk's Office moved swiftly to rectify the error and reassure voters, but there is NO possibility of a duplicate absentee ballot being counted," city spokesperson Dylan Brogan told Fox. 

Brogan added that the city is reviewing Tiffany's letter and working on a formal response. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.