A judge in Dane County ordered the Wisconsin Elections Commission to vote on regulations regarding the acceptance of absentee ballots missing witness address information, which, if passed, could result in more ballots being counted in the 2024 election.
Wisconsin law requires every absentee ballot to be signed by an adult witness, which opposers argued violates the federal Voting Rights Act. Earlier this month, Judge Ryan Nilsestuen ruled that ballots can be accepted if the witness’s address is incomplete. Tuesday’s permanent injunction demands that the WEC decide on that guidance by Feb. 9. That decision will prepare election workers to know which ballots can be counted for the spring primary on Feb. 20.
Nilsestuen’s ruling follows a yearslong fight over this matter. Since 2020, Democratic groups have filed lawsuits attempting to ease regulation on witness information needed on absentee ballots, citing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In September, a Waukesha County judge sided with Republicans to overturn 2016 guidance that allowed officials to complete missing address information on witness certificates if reliable information was available.
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Following the ruling, attorneys representing the legislature said they planned to file a motion to stay the ruling upon an appeal, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
Since 2020, several lawsuits have been filed in an attempt to clarify how state law defines a witness address. The Wisconsin Supreme Court denied former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit to invalidate thousands of state votes, in which his attorneys argued absentee ballots completed by witnesses cast in Milwaukee County and Dane County should not have counted.
