Absentee ballots are ready to be sent to Wisconsin voters. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Green Bay provided the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Friday the procedure it is following to make sure only one ballot per person is counted, in the wake of duplicate ballots sent out for the Aug. 11 election.
After a complaint was filed regarding the duplicate ballot mailing – which also happened for the April election – the WEC ordered the city to explain its policies.
The city provided its response on Friday.
These detailed procedures outline the initial review, secondary review, comparison of information, documentation utilized, and a plan for resolving any issues that may arise. These procedures were implemented on July 13, 2026. While some steps outlined in Exhibit A were in place during prior elections, additional procedures specific to the duplicate ballot issue were necessary at this time. For example, the Clerk’s Office created and implemented the use of the Ballot Custody Log. Clerk’s staff also undertook immediate alphabetization of returned certificate envelopes,” wrote City Attorney Lacey Cochart.
Also, additional work will be done for Election Day.
“Finally and in addition to the procedure outlined in Exhibit A, preparation for the City’s Central Count location includes running an “Absentee Ballots Associated View” report from the WisVote system and hand counting the number of ballots in each ward tray in comparison to the report. After the hand count is performed, another detailed comparison will be performed, voter-for-voter, name-by-name to the same referenced report,” Cochart wrote.
Friday’s filing also includes details about how the duplicate ballots came to be.
“Sometime during the morning of June 22, 2026, Clerk Jeffreys reviewed one of the four boxes containing the regular absentee voter labels to ensure labels were correctly printed and complete. While reviewing a box, Clerk Jeffreys believed some labels were missing from the end of the batch. As a result, Clerk Jeffreys reprinted a portion of those labels by locating the “2026-06-17 Fall Primary AB Labels—Reg Only” PDF document (previously sent to the Print Shop) and selecting what she believed to be the missing pages from the batch. These labels were then reprinted and affixed to ballot envelopes for processing. This reprinting would later be identified as the source of the duplicates,” the city stated.
After the state ordered the investigation, the city placed Jeffreys on leave.
The WEC has not scheduled any action on the issue.
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