Judge Makes Massive Absentee Ballot Ruling In Wisconsin

[Geee]

Daily Caller

A Waukesha judge ruled Wednesday that Wisconsin voters cannot cancel an absentee ballot that they have already mailed back just so they can cast a new ballot.

Former Republican Attorney General and Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel granted a permanent injunction “which will contain substantially the same terms” as the injunction he granted in October of 2022.

 

The suit was launched in September of 2022 by Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections on behalf of voter Nancy Koranic who claimed that the Wisconsin Elections Commission illegally told clerks in August of 2022 that so-called “ballot spoiling” was legal.

Both the Democratic National Committee and Rise, a left-leaning group, intervened on behalf of the state commission.

Schimel ruled that Wisconsin laws contain no language “that would authorize the scheme whereby a clerk spoils the ballot for the elector, at their request and sends out a new blank ballot for a do-over.”

 

 

Schimel also ruled that the legislature requires strict safeguards and rules to protect absentee voting and that any rules need to be scrutinized so that ballots are fairly counted.

“That is arguably a harsh rule, because it could result in a voter not having their vote counted, and it might not be the fault of the voter that the procedures were not followed,” Schimel ruled. “The point: WEC and all election clerks had better get it right, or voters will be disenfranchised. This court had better get it right, too.”

[Geee]

Judge: Wisconsin absentee ballots without complete addresses can be counted

(The Center Square) – A judge in Dane County says absentee ballots in Wisconsin don’t need a full address to be counted this year.

Judge Ryan Nilsestuen ruled local election managers need not reject absentee ballots if the absentee witness’ address is incomplete.

"The definition [of an address] preferred by the WEC and the Legislature would establish a simple, bright line rule, but it does not fit within the broader statutory context,” Nilsestuen wrote in his decision. “In fact, it directly conflicts with several other similar terms. Therefore, this definition is improper and, as used by the WEC, invalid."

 

The ruling comes after a judge in Waukesha County ruled last year local election clerks could not count ballots with missing address information. The Waukesha County ruling also forbade clerks from “curing” those ballots by adding the missing information.

Nilsestuen said the state law that deals with absentee ballots and witness addresses isn’t clear.

"The problem at hand could be resolved if the Legislature passed a bill to define 'address.' Instead, it is up to the judiciary to make sense of an undefined word used in a variety of different contexts in a convoluted and poorly written statute,” the judge added.

Part of the case focused on the different definitions that local election managers use to determine a “full address.”