Disabled Voters In WI Can Get Help To Return Ballots, Judge Rules

WISCONSIN — A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Wisconsin law cannot impede disabled voters from receiving help with returning their ballots.

The legality of the matter was called into question when the Wisconsin Supreme Court in July determined that ballot drop boxes were not legal under state law. Several people sued the Wisconsin Elections Commission after the move, and now U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Wisconsin James D. Peterson has issued a permanent injunction.

Peterson said voters who require assistance with returning their ballot are entitled to assistance from whoever they wish under the federal Voting Rights Act. Peterson also ordered the Wisconsin Elections Commission to provide written instructions to every clerk in the state outlining that disabled voters are entitled to receive assistance by Sept. 9.

RELATED: Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes Illegal, Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules

One plaintiff in the lawsuit was Timothy Carey, an Appleton man with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy who relies on a ventilator to keep him alive and a powered wheelchair to get around, according to the civil complaint. Because of his condition, Carey cannot visit polling places and he relies on someone else to fill out his absentee ballot and carry it to a mailbox or the clerk, the civil complaint explained.

But Carey's ability to get that assistance, like many other disabled Wisconsinites, was called into question when laws affording drop boxes and assistance were struck down. A 4-3 vote in July led by the Wisconsin court's conservative majority said voters can only return their own ballot.

The decision largely focused on ballot drop boxes, which were utilized by the WEC amid the coronavirus pandemic. The court ruled that dropboxes are not allowed under state law beyond a clerk's office. The ruling in July didn't mention if people could have others mail their ballot, although WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe soon pointed to state law that says a voter can only mail their own ballot.

“Voters shouldn’t have to choose between exercising their federal rights and complying with state law,” Peterson said in his final ruling.

The Associated Press contributed to writing and reporting in this story.