Politics
Wisconsin court says clerks’ delivery mistakes cannot erase timely-cast votes
A Dane County judge ruled that ballots held by municipal clerks by 8 p.m. on Election Day may be counted if election officials—not voters—caused them to arrive late at polling places. The decision follows a dispute over 23 ballots in Madison’s April Supreme Court election.
Wisconsin election clerks may count ballots that were in a municipality’s possession by 8 p.m. on Election Day but reached polling places later because of officials’ errors, a Dane County judge ruled Tuesday.
Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell said voters who met the legal requirements for casting a ballot should not lose their votes because election workers failed to deliver ballots on time. State law sets an 8 p.m. Election Day deadline for delivery to polling places.
The case grew out of Wisconsin’s April Supreme Court election, when 23 Madison ballots arrived at polling places after the deadline. City officials said an administrative error caused the delay. The Wisconsin Elections Commission had directed that the ballots not be counted, but Mitchell reversed that decision in May.
Margaret and Robert Honig, two of the affected voters, later sued, arguing that rejecting ballots properly cast by voters would violate their constitutional voting rights. The commission argued that the law’s wording barred counting any ballot delivered after 8 p.m. Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said voters should not be penalized for mistakes by election officials.
Mitchell’s latest ruling does not extend the deadline for voters to return ballots. It also does not permit counting a late-arriving ballot if the voter contributed in any way to the delay.
“The errors of the clerk should not be visited upon innocent voters,” said Wisconsin Elections Commission member Ann Jacobs, a Democratic appointee. Scott Thompson, a staff counsel at Law Forward who represents the Madison voters, called the ruling a victory for voting rights.
Wisconsin Elections Commission chair Don Millis, a Republican, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.