The Center for Election Confidence was featured in multiple Wisconsin news outlets following the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s August 31 decision to conclude its inquiry into Green Bay’s repeated issuance of duplicate absentee ballots without a formal investigation. FOX 11 and WBAY highlighted CEC’s concerns with the Commission’s decision, while WisPolitics published a statement from CEC Chief Policy Counsel Caleb Hays warning that closing the investigation without further independent verification leaves important questions unanswered.

FOX 11 Highlights CEC’s Concerns with Premature End to Investigation

FOX 11 reported that the Wisconsin Elections Commission unanimously voted to conclude its investigation into duplicate absentee ballots issued during two recent Green Bay elections, while postponing a decision on whether former City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys violated state law. WEC staff previously found probable cause that Jeffreys violated the law after 152 duplicate ballots were issued before the April election. Green Bay later acknowledged that it was reasonably certain another 244 voters received duplicate ballots before the August primary; yet, FOX 11 noted that number does not match print records, which show that as many as 390 absentee-ballot labels may have been reprinted.

FOX 11 prominently featured CEC’s response to the Commission’s decision. CEC criticized the decision to end the investigation after the same problem occurred twice in three months and questioned the lack of impartial substantiation of Green Bay’s explanation and corrective measures. As CEC emphasized, “None of this has been independently verified.” CEC called instead for the complete development of the factual record and continued oversight of Green Bay’s process improvements to ensure that the problem does not occur for a third time.

WBAY Covers CEC’s Call for Independent Verification and Continued Oversight

WBAY similarly reported that WEC ended its investigation into the Green Bay City Clerk’s Office after commissioners concluded that city officials had provided sufficient information about how the duplicate ballots were issued and the procedures adopted in response. The Commission nevertheless deferred a decision on whether former Clerk Celestine Jeffreys violated state law, with WEC Chairman Don Millis stating that, particularly after the second occurrence, there may have been an “abuse of discretion.”

WBAY reproduced CEC’s response at length, highlighting CEC’s concern that Green Bay previously assured voters the problem had been resolved only for the same mistake to occur again three months later. CEC warned that Green Bay has now offered, and WEC has accepted, “an unverified promise that this issue won’t happen again.” CEC maintains that meaningful election oversight requires more than assurances and that Green Bay voters deserve independent verification that new safeguards will actually prevent another duplicate-ballot incident.

WisPolitics Publishes Caleb Hays’s Statement on WEC Decision

WisPolitics published CEC Chief Policy Counsel Caleb Hays’s statement responding directly to WEC’s decision to end the Green Bay investigation prematurely. Hays emphasized that the resignation of the official overseeing the Clerk’s Office when the errors occurred does not resolve the broader concerns created by two similar failures in only three months. He also stressed that the Green Bay situation is more than a minor technical issue and that the number of extra live ballots issued has still not been independently verified.

Hays called for complete, independent development and verification of the factual record, along with continued oversight of Green Bay’s efforts to improve its election procedures. Summarizing CEC’s concern with accepting another assurance after the first promised fix failed, Hays concluded: “‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.’ Ignoring a problem does not make it go away.”