Wisconsin Judge Allows Ballots Delayed by Election Errors

A Dane County judge ruled that Wisconsin election officials may count absentee ballots that were in a municipality’s possession by 8 p.m. on Election Day but reached polling places late because of officials’ errors. The decision follows the rejection of 23 Madison ballots cast for the April state Supreme Court election; Judge Everett Mitchell said voters who met statutory requirements should not lose their votes because officials failed to deliver ballots on time. The Wisconsin Elections Commission had argued that state law bars counting ballots arriving after the deadline, while the voters who sued said rejecting them would violate their voting rights.