New Madison City Clerk has Hands Full with Election Prep

Lydia McComas, Madison’s new City Clerk has only been on the job for seven months, but she already has her hands full.  McComas’ predecessor, Maribeth Witzel-Behl, resigned in April of 2025 amid investigations into 193 misplaced and uncounted absentee ballots in the November, 2024 elections.  Since then, Witzel-Behl and the City of Madison, in response to a lawsuit by disenfranchised voters, have made the novel argument that absentee voting is a privilege, not a right.  Meanwhile, on February 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility or SAVE Act, which, if approved by the U.S. Senate, would require proof of U.S. citizenship before registering to vote.  To top it all off, President Trump has spoken of trying to nationalize the election process in states like Wisconsin and has threatened to send Department of Homeland Security agents to the polls, allegedly to conduct sweeps for undocumented immigrants.  So, with all that background, we thought we’d check in with Lydia McComas, and see how the city’s getting ready for what promises to be a rollercoaster of an election season.  Lydia McComas spoke with Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on February 16, 2026.

City of Madison polling place (photo by Chali Pittman / WORT News)

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