Wisconsin disabled voters may have help returning their ballots, federal judge rules
MADISON - Wisconsin voters who have disabilities that prevent them from returning ballots themselves may receive assistance while voting, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge James Peterson said the federal Voting Rights Act allows disabled voters to have friends or family return their ballots despite a recent state Supreme Court decision that barred such practices.
“Voters shouldn’t have to choose between exercising their federal rights and complying with state law,” Peterson wrote in his ruling in a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission brought by four Wisconsin voters who are each unable to move their arms or legs or have severely limited mobility
"But that is the position that plaintiffs find themselves in, and that is in part because defendants have refused to provide needed clarification. If defendants cannot or will not give plaintiffs assurances that their right to vote will be protected, this court must do so."
The voters brought the lawsuit in July after the state Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled state law does not permit unstaffed absentee ballot drop boxes and that voters could not give absentee ballots to someone else to submit to a clerk's office. It did not bar others from dropping absentee ballots in the mailbox for voters.
The lawsuit is brought by Law Forward, a voting rights-focused legal firm, on behalf of Timothy Carey of Grand Chute who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy; Martha Chambers of Milwaukee, who is paralyzed from the neck down; Scott Luber of Mequon, who has muscular dystrophy; and Mike Reece of Sun Prairie, who has cerebral palsy.
"I'm thrilled with the ruling today from Judge Peterson," Chambers said. "The fact that now people who vote absentee, specifically, people with disabilities, now are assured that they can vote with the assistance of an agent, a loved one, a caregiver, like I vote — it's thrilling. It's reassuring."
The plaintiffs asked Peterson to allow them to have caretakers return ballots to clerks' offices, citing a statement Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe made in July when she interpreted the state Supreme Court's ruling to mean voters must return their own ballots.
"This order confirms what DRW always knew: that voters with disabilities may have assistance from a person of their choice with voting, including with ballot return assistance, and that these rights are protected by federal law," Barbara Beckert, Milwaukee Office Director of Disability Rights Wisconsin, said in a statement.
"DRW has heard from voters who are angry, confused, and disenfranchised because Wisconsin courts and election officials have not upheld the protections in federal law for voters with disabilities. Those voters should now feel confident to assert their voting rights, which are protected by federal law."
Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Disabled voters in Wisconsin may have help voting, federal judge rules
