A Dane County judge found that Wisconsin’s absentee voting system discriminates against voters with print disabilities by forcing them to have someone else assist them with filling out their ballots — undermining the secrecy of their vote. 

In a ruling issued Tuesday, Judge Everett Mitchell sided with Disability Rights Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters who had brought the lawsuit against the state Elections Commission to ensure that voters who have trouble seeing, reading or filling out their ballot can request, receive, vote and return an absentee ballot on their own. 

The groups, and four voters with disabilities, brought the lawsuit in April 2024 and were represented by the voting rights focused firm Law Forward, arguing that the state’s existing system violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. 

In his decision, Mitchell wrote that WEC must follow the ADA’s requirement to accommodate voters with disabilities and that the current system allowing people with print disabilities to have someone else fill out their ballots denies the voters “the equal opportunity to vote absentee privately and independently.” 

While he agreed that the current system is discriminatory, Mitchell did not grant the request that disabled voters be allowed to cast their absentee ballots electronically, writing that “there remains a genuine dispute of material fact with respect to whether their proposed accommodation is reasonable.” 

Further hearings will be held in the case to determine the best solution.

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit Thursday against Wisconsin Elections Commission guidance that bars people who request an absentee ballot from casting an in-person ballot if the mail ballot will not arrive by the time polls close on Election Day. 

The lawsuit was filed as officials in Wisconsin, and the commission itself, have warned voters about potential delays in the mail system ahead of this year’s August and November elections. 

But commission guidance states that once voters mail their absentee ballots back to the clerk, they cannot be issued new ballots at the polls on Election Day. This means that if voters realize their ballots will not arrive in time after early in-person voting closes the Sunday before an election, they will not be able to vote. 

“Once a voter has placed their ballot in the mail, it is considered mailed,” the WEC guidance states. “They cannot be issued a new ballot at the polling place on Election Day, even if their absentee ballot will not be returned to the clerk’s office in time to be counted.”

The lawsuit seeks to allow voters who believe their ballots will not arrive to the clerk in time to go in person to cast a provisional ballot that would be set aside and only be counted if the initial ballot does not arrive by the deadline. 

Hundreds of voters did not have their votes counted during the state’s April elections because their ballots did not arrive in time. A WEC survey of clerks following the April election reported that hundreds of the state’s election officials believed delays in the mail had caused problems in the spring election. 

“Every voter in Wisconsin that puts an accurately requested absentee ballot in the mail on time expects their vote will be counted. Delays in mail delivery prevent that. It is time to have a remedy for these eligible voters,” Debra Cronmiller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, said. 

The League is represented in the lawsuit by Law Forward and the Fair Elections Center. The lawsuit argues that the commission understands the problem but is not taking advantage of an obvious solution to the potential mail delays. 

“The right to vote protects Wisconsinites from baseless disenfranchisement on Election Day. But WEC wants to turn these voters away. That’s just wrong,” Law Forward attorney Scott Thompson said. “We shouldn’t punish Wisconsin voters just because the mail is late. They must have the opportunity to vote on Election Day.”