Madison’s deputy city clerk will run the Nov. 3 election while City Clerk Lydia McComas is on maternity leave, as the city seeks to prevent a repeat of ballot-handling problems that prompted state investigations. Deputy Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde will lead the election, with support from additional city employees, including City Attorney Mike Haas, a former administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission. City spokesperson Dylan Brogan said Madison is confident the previous errors will not happen again, describing election administration as a team effort involving about 2,000 people. The city has faced heightened scrutiny since nearly 200 absentee ballots went missing during the 2024 election. In April 2026, a staff error nearly kept 23 late-arriving absentee ballots from being counted in the state Supreme Court election. The Wisconsin Elections Commission opened investigations into both incidents, the first two it had ever opened into Madison elections. Commission member Ann Jacobs called the second error “absurd.” Bernarde, who served more than four years as Wausau’s clerk, said Madison added a full-time absentee ballot lead before the August primary, along with hourly workers and staff from other departments. The new role and additional checks are intended to help track ballots at multiple points, including during scheduled and late deliveries. “We all want a zero [error] election,” Bernarde said, adding that election workers are being trained to document problems and respond to them. She said the city has experience operating under scrutiny from state officials, residents and others involved in elections. McComas took over as clerk in September 2025, after the 2024 ballot loss. Following the April incident, she told Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway that the office would address communication failures and increase staffing for subsequent elections. The November election will also take place amid possible oversight from the state commission and outside observers. Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany has previously cast doubt on Wisconsin election results in its largest cities, adding to the political attention surrounding Madison’s election administration.