AllaSerebrina / Depositphotos.com
MADISON, WI (WSAU) – A lawsuit filed by the National Democratic law firm Elias Law Group contesting Wisconsin’s witness requirements for absentee voting was dismissed by a federal judge on Friday.
According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Court Judge James Peterson dismissed the complaint on Thursday, stating that the fact that the legislation has not been challenged in any manner since the 1960s was “telling.”
“It may be debatable whether the witness requirement is needed, but it is one reasonable way for the state to try to deter abuses such as fraud and undue influence in a setting where election officials cannot monitor the preparation of a ballot,” Peterson stated in his decision.
The law group argued that the law violates the federal Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act by demanding a witness signature on ballot envelopes. Election clerks are required by state law to reject absentee ballots that do not include a witness’ address or signature. In 2022, another Wisconsin judge ruled that election officials cannot alter or replace missing information on witness certificates, which has come to be known as ballot curing.
This ruling is expected to play a big role in this year’s pivotal fall election, which will include a tight race for Wisconsin’s next U.S. senator and to decide which presidential candidate will earn the Badger State’s key electoral college votes. According to Five Thirty-Eight’s latest polling average in Wisconsin, former President Trump currently leads President Biden by just 1.7 points; however, the latest Quinnipiac poll found that Biden leads Trump by just one point in Wisconsin, with independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. winning 12% of the vote.
Comments