July 21, 2023

Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, Priorities USA File Legal Challenge to Absentee Ballot Restrictions in Wisconsin

On Thursday, the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, Priorities USA and William Franks, Jr., a board member of the Alliance from Dane County, Wisconsin, filed a legal challenge to three provisions of Wisconsin election law that place unnecessary restrictions on casting absentee ballots. The filing seeks to provide relief to voters impacted by the following restrictions:

The lawsuit challenges barriers to absentee voting in Wisconsin including a requirement that every absentee ballot be signed by an adult witness regardless of whether a voter lives alone, is homebound, or faces other barriers to satisfying the provision. The filing argues that as a result of the unnecessary requirement, the right to vote by absentee ballot is unfairly based on the voter’s ability to find a willing third party.

It also challenges a Wisconsin law that has been interpreted to prohibit the use of drop boxes for collecting absentee ballots. Drop boxes have consistently been proven as a secure and convenient way to submit absentee ballots and were widely used without issue in the 2020 election. Despite this, a recent court decision eliminated the use of drop boxes in 2022 which led to a significant increase in late-arriving absentee ballots.

Finally, the suit seeks relief for voters from the arbitrary deadline to cure defects in their ballot.

“Seniors in Wisconsin take their constitutional right to vote seriously. We are also the most likely to need to vote absentee because of health issues or transportation challenges,” said Ross Winklbauer, Sr., President of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans. “We are asking the Court to remove these unnecessary barriers so all voters in Wisconsin, especially older voters, can cast a ballot that will actually be counted.”

Read the full press release here.