On Wednesday, a Wisconsin judge announced a monumental ruling for absentee voters saying they cannot cancel a 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.
In 2022, Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections filed a lawsuit 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.
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 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.”
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