Wisconsin Judge Rules Mail-In Ballots With Certain Errors Must Still Be Counted

A judge in Wisconsin on Tuesday ruled that state election clerks can accept absentee ballots that contain errors, including missing portions of witness addresses. The Dane County Circuit Court ruled in favor of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin in its lawsuit to clarify voting protections for voters whose absentee ballots have minor errors in listing their witnesses’ addresses. The ruling means that absentee ballots with certain technical witness address defects will not be rejected in future elections, the league said in a statement. In Tuesday’s order, the Dane County Circuit Court Judge Ryan Nilsestuen wrote that the “witness address requirement is material to whether a voter is qualified,” adding that “rejecting ballots for trivial mistakes in the Witness Address requirement directly violates the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.”...