(This article was updated to add new information.)
Green Bay officials will add redundancy into its election processes following two prior duplicate ballot errors, including one in June officials said they were “reasonably certain” affected 244 voters, a previously undisclosed figure.
In a nine-page report to the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Aug. 14, City Attorney Lacey Cochart outlined the city’s plan to have multiple Clerk’s Office staffers involved in mailing absentee ballots to voters ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
When printing the labels that will go on envelopes, both the city clerk and deputy clerk will need to approve any reprints, according to the report. Office staffers, assigned to one of the city’s 52 wards, will put those labels on envelopes and mark their initials when done. A second office employee will verify the envelopes and put them in a mail tray.
Adding this multi-person verification would eliminate the chance that an official could reprint labels “based on that person’s own determination and without the knowledge of others,” Cochart wrote, alluding to former City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys in June reprinting mailing labels she believed were missing without her staff knowing.
Robert Kehoe, deputy administrator at the Wisconsin Elections Commission, had asked Jeffreys how many voters were affected on June 29, one day after Jeffreys notified the elections commission of the June incident. Later that day, Jeffreys responded that city staff were “in the process of finalizing the numbers.”
Cochart on July 3 emailed Kehoe that “this matter is under continued review” and that city officials were “reasonably certain” 244 regular absentee voters got a duplicated ballot. She also said print data showed “up to 390 regular absentee ballots” may have been reprinted. City officials have previously declined to answer all questions from the Green Bay Press-Gazette clarifying the number of affected voters.
Cochart in her Aug. 14 report said that city officials gave the elections commission the 390 number “because we cannot confirm with documentation the exact list of voters that received a duplicate.” Officials were still reasonably certain only 244 voters were ultimately affected, however, according to Cochart.
Letters were sent to the 244 identified voters, with no duplicated ballots being sent to the city’s central count during the Aug. 11 election, according to Cochart.
“There is no question that clerks, their staff, and the many part-time election inspectors who administer elections in Wisconsin deserve fair scrutinization,” Cochart wrote in her report. “Our election processes are deserving of this scrutinization and oversight, but Wisconsin’s elections staff also are entitled to a degree of grace and to guidance and criticism that is offered in good faith. We welcome any and all input from the Commission that is offered in this vein.”
The incident from June was the second time this year the now-resigned clerk accidentally mailed voters replicated ballots.
The city previously told the elections commission that the first incident, from March, happened when Jeffreys either failed to attach labels and sheets together before giving it to a staff member or she reprinted an entire batch of labels without first asking her staff. City officials confirmed 152 voters were affected. The elections commission found Jeffreys likely violated state law in this case.
A complaint by the Republican Party of Wisconsin has alleged the incident would cause “substantial risk of confusion, double voting and (increase) the opportunity for and possibility of fraud,” a claim that Jeffreys has denied.
In a response to the complaint, Jeffreys repeated her office would take proactive steps to prevent such an incident. She wrote she would make sure all labels would be “clearly marked” with the date they were printed and that she was “exploring technological upgrades to help improve efficiency” with absentee ballot label printing.
It remains unclear if the announced proactive measures were in place before the second time duplicate absentee ballots were sent in June. City officials have declined all interview requests from the Press-Gazette.
In the second incident, the the clerk’s office mailed duplicate ballots to voters across seven of the city’s 52 wards, mostly on the city’s west side: Wards 11a, 12a, 37a, 44, 45, 46, 47. City officials had initially said part of Ward 43 was also affected; however, Cochart’s Aug. 14 report appeared to clarify that Ward 43 was not involved after Jeffreys verified that a voter in that ward did not get an absentee ballot, then later sent letters to those affected in the other wards.
Jeffreys had looked through one of four boxes of mailing labels the morning of June 22 “to ensure labels were correctly printed and complete,” the city previously reported to the elections commission. She believed some labels were missing, then printed the labels she believed still needed to be printed, according to the letter. The labels were put onto envelopes, mailed out and later identified as the source of the replica ballots.
Cochart in her Aug. 14 report said city officials could not confirm the specific pages that Jeffreys believed were missing because Jeffreys “did not document the last page of labels in the box.”
“Our elections are fair and secure in the City of Green Bay,” Mayor Eric Genrich said to the City Council on Aug. 18, “And in spite of these clerical mistakes that absolutely did happen, that was never in doubt or in jeopardy.”
Several City Council members on Aug. 18 praised Jeffreys’ time as a public servant within city government.
“Everybody makes mistakes,” City Council member Jim Ridderbush said to council members. “It’s shame on us. Ever since she’s had the job, somebody’s been after her head, and I sincerely thank her for her service.”
Jesse Lin is a reporter covering the community of Green Bay and its surroundings, as well as politics in northeastern Wisconsin. He also writes a weekly column answering reader questions about Green Bay. Contact and send him questions at 920-834-4250 or jlin@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay will add redundancy to avoid duplicated ballots, report says
Reporting by Jesse Lin, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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By Jesse Lin, Green Bay Press-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
