Judge extends deadline for Wisconsin ballots up to 6 days beyond election
MADISON,
Wis. (AP) — A federal judge ruled Monday that absentee ballots in
battleground Wisconsin can be counted up to six days after the Nov. 3
presidential election as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
The
highly anticipated ruling, unless overturned, means that the outcome of
the presidential race in Wisconsin might not be known for days after
polls close. Under current law, the deadline for returning an absentee
ballot to have it counted is 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Democrats and
their allies sued to extend the deadline in the key swing state after
the April presidential primary saw long lines, fewer polling places, a
shortage of workers and thousands of ballots mailed days after the
election.
U.S. District Judge William Conley granted a large
portion of their requests, issuing a preliminary injunction that was
expected to be appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. He put
the ruling on hold for seven days to give the other side a chance to
seek an emergency appeal.
In Wisconsin’s April presidential
primary, Conley also extended the deadline for returning absentee
ballots for a week. In that election, nearly 7% of all ballots cast were
returned the week after polls closed.
In 2016, the presidential race was decided in Wisconsin by less than 1 percentage point — fewer than 23,000 votes.
Polls
show Democrat Joe Biden with a slight lead, but both sides are
expecting another tight race. Biden wrapped up a campaign stop in
northeast Wisconsin about an hour before the ruling was released. Trump
held a rally in the state last week.
The Republican National
Committee, the Wisconsin GOP and Wisconsin’s Republican legislators
argued that current absentee voting regulations should be left in place,
saying people have plenty of time to obtain ballots and get them back
to clerks by Election Day.
Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman
Andrew Hitt said they were reviewing the order and working with others
to determine next steps.
The Democratic National Committee, the
state Democratic Party and groups including the League of Women Voters
and Disability Rights Wisconsin filed a series of lawsuits to make
absentee voting and registration easier so people won’t have to go to
the polls and risk catching the coronavirus.
“This ruling is a
victory for democracy,” said Jonathan Manes, an attorney with the
MacArthur Justice Center, which represented the plaintiffs along with
Protect Democracy. “Every voter should be able to vote easily, safely,
and accessibly, no matter where they live or who they are. Today’s
decision brings us closer to that goal.”
Conley, an appointee of
former President Barack Obama, also agreed with Democrats to lift the
Oct. 14 deadline for by-mail and electronic voter registration. The
judge extended it until Oct. 21. Conley further ruled that poll workers
can work in any county, not just in the one where they live. Clerks have
reported a shortage of poll workers due to the pandemic, and loosening
the residency rules could make it easier to fill slots.
Wisconsin
Democratic Party spokeswoman Courtney Beyer said the party welcomes
Conley’s decision and it expands the opportunity to vote.
Even though he extended the deadlines to register and return ballots, Conley urged voters to cast them as soon as possible.
While
more than 1 million absentee ballots have been requested to date, the
Wisconsin Elections Commission anticipates as many as 2 million will
eventually be cast. That would be three times more than any other
previous election, which threatens to overwhelm election officials,
Conley said. The U.S. Postal Service will also “undoubtedly be
overwhelmed again with ballots in November, as they were in April,”
Conley wrote.
There’s little doubt that tens of thousands of voters risk not being able to vote without expanding the deadlines, Conley said.
“While
the Legislature would opt to disregard the voting rights of these
so-called procrastinators, Wisconsin’s election system sets them up for
failure in light of the near certain impacts of this ongoing pandemic,”
he wrote.
The judge also said he expects that in-person voting in November will continue to pose a health risk due to COVID-19.
“While
the exact trajectory of COVID-19 in Wisconsin is unknown, the
unrebutted public health evidence in the record demonstrates that
COVID-19 will continue to persist, and may worsen, through November,”
Conley wrote.
Wisconsin has reported 345 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, meaning it ranks third in the country for new cases per capita. The state had nearly 102,500 total cases as of Monday and 1,244 deaths.
Associated Press writer Doug Glass contributed to this report from Minneapolis.