Wisconsin judge denies bid by voters to toss absentee ballot witness requirement
MADISON, Wis. (CN) — A Wisconsin judge on Thursday shut down a lawsuit from four state voters trying to get rid of a state election law requiring a witness for those casting absentee ballots.
In their Oct. 2023 complaint, voters Susan Liebert, Anna Haas, Anna Poi and Anastasia Ferin claimed that a state law requiring a U.S. adult citizen to physically witness, certify and sign an absentee ballot violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The requirement created a disenfranchising burden, those voters said, especially for voters who are disabled, members of a minority group, recently naturalized or students.
U.S. District Judge James Peterson, an Obama appointee, found those claims unavailing. On Thursday, he denied the voters summary judgment and instead granted it to the defendants, which included the members of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission, three municipal clerks and the intervening Wisconsin Legislature.
https://www.courthousenews.com/wisconsin-judge-denies-bid-by-voters-to-toss-absentee-ballot-witness-requirement/