The Wisconsin 4th District Court of Appeals has ruled that absentee ballots are valid even if the witness providing the verification fails to include a complete address. This decision is expected to increase the number of counted absentee ballots in the critical swing state for the 2024 election.
Wisconsin, known for its tight election margins, saw the last two presidential races decided by less than 23,000 votes, although with the inevitable fraud that happened, the margin was surely much larger. The ruling is poised to play a crucial role in this year’s election. Biden's campaign has emphasized the importance of winning key states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin for a path to victory.
State law mandates that absentee voters send their ballots in envelopes bearing a witness signature and address. However, the law does not specify what constitutes a complete address in this context. In January, Dane County Circuit Judge Ryan Nilsestuen ruled that ballots could still be counted if a witness’s address lacks full details, such as a municipality or ZIP code, or if it uses terms like “same” or “ditto” when the witness shares an address with the voter.
Republican legislators sought to overturn this decision, arguing that an address should include the street number, street name, and municipality. However, the appellate court upheld Nilsestuen’s ruling unanimously, stating that witnesses need only provide sufficient information for clerks to identify and contact them if needed. Judge Chris Taylor wrote that if lawmakers intended for more detailed address information, they could have explicitly required it.
Judges on the appeals panel have backgrounds connected to the Democratic Party: Judge Chris Taylor is a former Democratic legislator, Judge Brian Blanchard served as a Democratic district attorney, and Judge Rachel Graham was a clerk for liberal State Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley.
Misha Tseytlin, the attorney representing the Republican legislators, did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the ruling or on the possibility of appealing to the state Supreme Court. Given the current liberal majority on the high court, such an appeal might face significant challenges.
This ruling follows a recent decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court allowing local election officials to use absentee ballot drop boxes, reversing a previous restriction from the court’s conservative majority.
