Madison’s city clerk has resigned after being put on leave a month ago amid a state probe into why her office failed to count 193 absentee ballots cast in the November election.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway didn’t provide a reason for Maribeth Witzel-Behl’s resignation in a short statement Monday and praised her performance in the job she’d held since 2006.

“On behalf of City of Madison residents, I want to extend my gratitude to Maribeth for her commitment and dedication to public service,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Maribeth embodies the motto she brought to the Clerk’s Office: ‘We exist to assist.’ I wish her the very best in future endeavors.” 

The Elections Commission voted earlier this year to open a probe into why the city failed to count the ballots, as well as whether Witzel-Behl failed to comply with the law or abused her discretion. During a March vote to approve hearing depositions from Madison employees, Commission Chair Ann Jacobs, a Dem appointee, knocked Witzel-Behl for a “complete lack of leadership.’’

The Elections Commission is scheduled to discuss possible further actions in its review of the missed absentee ballots during its Thursday meeting.

According to Monday’s announcement, City Attorney Michael Haas will continue serving as acting clerk while a national search is conducted for Witzel-Behl’s replacement. Haas, who previously served as administrator for the state Elections Commission, became acting clerk last month and oversaw the April election.  

Witzel-Behl’s contract with the city was set to expire in September. Along with the uncounted absentee ballots, her office mistakenly sent duplicate absentee ballots to about 2,200 Madison voters in September. She chalked that up to “human error” in a response to GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany raising concerns about the ballots and asking Witzel-Behl if law enforcement had been contacted to “investigate whether this ‘error’ was the result of simple incompetence or a deliberate nefarious act.”

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