GREEN BAY — The Wisconsin Elections Commission released initial findings indicating Green Bay City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys likely violated state law by accidentally mailing duplicated absentee ballots to 152 voters before the April 7, 2026, spring election. The commission stated it might order corrective measures at its July 9, 2026, meeting if the findings are upheld.

Theresa Sipes, a member of the Republican Party of Brown County, filed a complaint alleging the duplicated ballots introduced risks of double voting and fraud. Jeffreys denied the complaint, asserting she had fulfilled her duty to prevent double voting and classified the complaint as moot after the election. The commission largely sided with Sipes in a six-page analysis.

The commission's analysis stated, "Administrative errors can and will happen, and in this case additional safeguards appear likely to address the issue and prevent it from occurring." The analysis also noted, "While the respondent [Jeffreys] appears to have done her duty to prevent any voter from voting more than once, the allegation is that she issued duplicate ballots when she should not have and that is an issue that could affect future elections and that the commission is empowered to [address]." If the findings are upheld, the commission will order Jeffreys to conform to state law and create procedures preventing future duplication of ballots.

At an April 7 news conference, Jeffreys stated that of the 152 voters who received duplicate ballots, only one voter returned both. The clerk's office requested that the voter spoil both ballots and subsequently issued a new one. Jeffreys attributed the April duplication incident to an administrative error. She explained that a batch of certificate labels was not properly filed after being processed for envelopes, leading an election worker to mistakenly believe the batch was incomplete. As a result, the labels were recopied, creating the 152 duplicate mailings. Jeffreys learned about the replica ballots on March 23 and mailed notices to the affected voters on March 30.

A ballot duplication error involving absentee ballots for the August primary was reported recently due to a printing error. "I regret the printing error occurred," Jeffreys said in a news release. "I assure our voters that only one ballot per eligible voter will be tabulated." She added, "I encourage any voter with questions to contact our office directly." Jeffreys stated she would ensure all certificate label documents are clearly marked to identify the date of printing and date of completion. She is also exploring technological upgrades to help improve efficiency in printing certificate labels for absentee ballots. Jeffreys, who began her tenure as city clerk in 2021, and the city's communications director declined to answer questions from the Press-Gazette on the repeat occurrence.