A state panel has OK'd a guidance document for election clerks that covers when people with disabilities have help returning a completed absentee ballot this fall.
The six members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission met Tuesday night, following a federal court ruling last week that said voters with disabilities can get help returning their ballots. Judge James Peterson said the federal Voting Rights Act allows an agent of the voter's choosing, and takes precedence over state laws that suggest otherwise.
Democratic Party appointee Ann Jacobs of Milwaukee wrote the document the commission eventually approved, after adding what she said was more firm, consistent language to a version offered by commission staff.
For one thing, Jacobs said clerks don't have to confirm the agent's identity.
"The clerk doesn't get to tell someone, 'You don't get to bring in the ballot because I don't like you as an assistant.' And, it's our job as a commission to point that out," she said.
The document also says clerks don't need to confirm that a person using ballot return assistance is disabled — the voter can self-identify. Also that an agent can help more than one voter, as long as the agent is not the voter's employer or labor union representative.
Democratic Party appointee Mark Thomsen supported the Jacobs document, saying it's the most legally defensible version when the lawsuit he expects is filed.
"I would ask that we vote for it, and go home, and let the courts decide what the law is, because somebody's suing us no matter what we're saying tonight," Thomsen said.
After Republicans on the commission lost two attempts, on tie votes, to add requirements for agents who return a ballot, one of the GOP appointees, Marge Bostelmann, joined Democrats in approving the Jacobs document four to two.
Wisconsin's midterm elections are Tuesday, November 8, 2022. If you have a question about voting or the races, submit it below.
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