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What happened?
Some of the 193 Madison voters whose ballots mistakenly didn’t get counted in the 2024 presidential election filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking class-action status, arguing that the city unconstitutionally deprived them of their right to vote.
The lawsuit stands out because it seeks monetary damages for alleged violations of voting rights — a remedy that has become increasingly rare. According to election experts, that type of claim is unlikely to succeed.
“These voters deserved better,” Scott Thompson, an attorney for the plaintiffs with the firm Law Forward, said in a statement. ”In Wisconsin, we value the right to vote, and there will be consequences when that right is denied.”
What’s the dispute?
During the November 2024 election, Madison election officials made a series of errors that kept 193 absentee ballots from being counted on Election Day. Officials waited so long to report the ballots to the county and state that they couldn’t be added before the election results got certified.
The incident led to the city clerk’s suspension and resignation, city and state investigations, and specific orders imposed by the Wisconsin Elections Commission that require the city to establish new procedures.
Who are the plaintiffs and what are they seeking?
The named plaintiffs are some of the 193 voters whose ballots didn’t get counted in the 2024 election: Precious Ayodabo, Cary Bloodworth, Benjamin Jones, Sara Browne, Jenna Innab, Amira Pierotti, Miriam Sham, and Johannes Wolter. They’re represented by attorneys at Law Forward, a liberal election law group, and Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP.
They’re suing the city of Madison, the city’s clerk office, former Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl, and current Deputy Clerk Jim Verbick, seeking monetary damages for the city’s failure to count the voters’ ballots. The complaint doesn’t specify the amount, but in a claim filed in March, the group representing the plaintiffs requested $34 million, or $175,000 for each disenfranchised voter.
Madison’s interim City Clerk and City Attorney Mike Haas declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Why does it matter?
This lawsuit aims to emphasize the importance of properly counting all ballots, and set a monetary penalty for denying a person their vote. Election law experts note that claims for such remedies were common in voting rights battles of the late 1800s and 1900s — particularly when officials deliberately worked to disenfranchise Black voters — but are now rarely pursued and unlikely to succeed.
Although election officials around the state have repeatedly emphasized the severity of Madison’s errors, some told Votebeat that seeking monetary compensation for election mistakes would add unnecessary pressure on them.
Thompson, the Law Forward attorney, told Votebeat that he understands how clerks feel but wants there to be a clear penalty for disenfranchising voters, especially as some conservative groups in the past have sought to prohibit clerks from counting certain ballots.
What happens now?
The lawsuit will likely play out for months or longer. Madison has already hired a new clerk, Lydia McComas, who is set to start in late September.
Read more of Votebeat’s recent coverage about the Madison ballot snafu:
- Madison hires new clerk to run elections after year of turmoil, Aug. 20, 2025
- Wisconsin Elections Commission finalizes specific orders for Madison to follow to avoid ballot errors, Aug. 15, 2025
- Madison clerk was on a cookie-baking staycation as missing-ballot mess unfolded, July 18, 2025
- Investigation into missing Madison ballots spotlights lax security at county-owned building, July 16, 2025
- New election procedures in Madison, Wisconsin, made repeat of 2024 snafu ‘basically impossible’, April 2, 2025
Alexander Shur is a reporter for Votebeat based in Wisconsin. Contact Alexander at ashur@votebeat.org.
