Judge: Wisconsin Paper Absentee Ballots Fail Disabled Voters

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge ruled Tuesday that the state's absentee voting system discriminates against disabled voters, siding with groups seeking to force election officials to allow ballots to be cast electronically.

Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell stopped short of ordering electronic voting, setting up a trial on that question later. The issue almost certainly will not be resolved before the November election.

Mitchell ruled that the state's absentee ballot program, which requires voters to complete and return a ballot on paper, denies disabled people "the equal opportunity to vote absentee privately and independently."

Disability Rights Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters and four disabled voters brought the lawsuit in 2024. They argued that the lack of an electronic absentee option violated their right to independence and privacy as well as the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Mitchell issued a temporary injunction in 2024 saying disabled voters should have the option to vote electronically. An appeals court reversed that ruling and sent the case back to the lower court, saying it was wrong to issue a temporary injunction that would have changed and "significantly disrupted the status quo."

The Republican-controlled Legislature is fighting the lawsuit.

In Tuesday's decision, the judge declined to order election officials to offer electronic ballots to qualified disabled voters, saying the parties still disputed whether that was a reasonable remedy. He noted the difficulty of instituting such a program and the risks involved.

Under his earlier ruling, made before more facts in the case were presented, voters who self-certify that they cannot read or mark a paper ballot without help would be eligible to request an electronic ballot.

Absentee ballots are currently emailed to military and overseas voters from Wisconsin.

Neither the plaintiffs nor the Wisconsin Elections Commission had estimates of how many disabled voters would request absentee ballots electronically.

Spokespeople for the elections commission and the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which represented the commission, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

A hearing in the case is set for Aug. 12, when a potential trial date could be set.