MADISON – A Dane County Circuit Judge has rejected an effort by Wisconsin Democrats to overturn guidance by state election officials that bars voters from requesting a new ballot if their preferred candidate drops out of the race.
The lawsuit, brought by a trio of Dane County voters with the backing of the state Democratic Party, was filed in the final weeks of the Democratic primary for governor as candidates left the race unexpectedly.
The effort to undo guidance issued by the Wisconsin Elections Commission earlier this month drew pushback from the Republican National Committee and support from the commission’s own Democratic members.
It asked Dane County Circuit Judge David Conway to block the commission from distributing the guidance and to instead tell local election clerks voters may request a new ballot in this scenario. But Conway said in a ruling July 29 that the law was unambiguous and did not “allow a voter to spoil an absentee ballot after it is returned.”
Voters tracking the Democratic primary experienced whiplash in July when Democratic candidate David Crowley dropped out to endorse Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who had been projecting momentum as an alternative to the field’s democratic socialist frontrunner, Francesca Hong. Rodriguez then dropped out herself when she revealed her campaign was broke. Crowley then reentered the race.
Voters who have returned ballots before now may have chosen Rodriguez or former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes, who dropped out in June.
“If this Court does not act, the Plaintiffs, and potentially thousands more Wisconsin voters, will be disenfranchised,” attorneys for the plaintiffs argued in the July 23 filing.
Attorneys representing the RNC moved to join the lawsuit and urged the judge to reject the plaintiffs’ demands.
“… Plaintiffs suggest that [the guidance] somehow ushered in a sea change to Wisconsin election law by reiterating that voters who cast absentee ballots — just like Election Day voters — are not entitled to do-overs after they have already completed the voting process. That assertion is astounding, and the Court should reject it.”
Wisconsin Elections Commission chairman Don Millis agrees. In a op-ed published July 28, Millis said the guidance was not a change from past practice. He said should the plaintiffs prevail, implementation would be a “disaster” given how many people utilize absentee voting.
“Given the prevalence of absentee voting, requiring clerks to return ballots on request so voters can change their votes will overburden municipal clerk offices, most of which are understaffed and underfunded,” he wrote. “Imagine the onslaught of voters who may descend on clerks around the state if one week before the election some court tells voters they can retrieve their absentee ballot to vote for a different candidate.”
Democratic commissioners Ann Jacobs and Mark Thomsen, who voted against the guidance at issue, also moved to intervene in the lawsuit to argue separately from the commission.
“Timing is of the essence to preserve equal protection of all voters,” an attorney for Jacobs wrote in a brief.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Judge upholds election rule barring absentee ballot revotes
Reporting by Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
