Wisconsin judge allows disabled voters to receive ballots electronically in November

A Wisconsin judge will allow disabled voters to receive their absentee ballots electronically at their homes in the November election.

Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell issued a temporary injunction Tuesday that will allow disabled voters to receive absentee ballots via email for the general election, The Center Square reported. The voters will have to cast their ballots via mail or in person and may receive assistance, according to Votebeat.

Originally, the disabled voters sought to electronically receive and cast their absentee ballots for both the August primary election and the November general election. However, the motion for a temporary injunction was modified for only the November election after Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe said that it would be “virtually impossible” to implement the change for both elections.

“Even the most minor change generally requires two to three months of work under ideal conditions, while major changes typically require eight to twelve months to complete,” Wolfe said in a court filing prior to the ruling.

Absentee ballots are first sent by clerks 47 days before the election, which would set the date in mid-September.

The lawsuit was filed by Disability Rights Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, and four disabled voters against the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) in April over state statutes that "deny voters with disabilities the ability to receive, mark, and return their absentee ballot electronically."

While the temporary injunction only allows the voters to receive their ballots electronically, the lawsuit is seeking to also let them send their ballots electronically.

One of the plaintiffs, Don Natzke, who is blind, said about the ruling, “[I]t’s an exciting and a very important day, and we look forward to the next steps. I’m really excited about the possibility of having the chance to have an accessible absentee ballot by November.”