Overview
- Three Dane County voters backed by the Wisconsin Democratic Party filed a lawsuit Thursday asking a judge to block Wisconsin Elections Commission guidance that bars voters from 'spoiling' returned absentee ballots and requesting new ones.
- The commission issued the guidance in early July saying a voter changing their mind or a candidate withdrawing does not count as an 'accident or mistake' that allows a returned ballot to be voided.
- Tens of thousands of absentee ballots have already been returned to clerks, with reports ranging from about 80,000 to roughly 91,000, creating a large pool of voters who could be affected if courts allow revotes.
- A separate suit filed Friday by the League of Women Voters seeks a ruling that absentee voters whose mailed ballots do not arrive on time may cast provisional ballots at the polls so their votes can be counted if the mailed ballot is late.
- The cases revive earlier 2022 fights over ballot spoiling, put the Wisconsin Elections Commission and the state Department of Justice on opposite sides in state court, and could reach the Wisconsin Supreme Court before the Aug. 11 primary.