{"id":2267939,"date":"2024-06-14T13:59:01","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T17:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/leftist-led-wisconsin-supreme-court-upholds-ban-on-voting-booth-on-wheels-for-now\/"},"modified":"2024-06-14T14:03:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T18:03:46","slug":"leftist-led-wisconsin-supreme-court-upholds-ban-on-voting-booth-on-wheels-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/leftist-led-wisconsin-supreme-court-upholds-ban-on-voting-booth-on-wheels-for-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Supreme Court, Led by Leftists, Temporarily Upholds &#8216;Voting Booth on Wheels&#8217; Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fleftist-led-wisconsin-supreme-court-upholds-ban-on-voting-booth-on-wheels-for-now%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2267939&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Wisconsin Supreme Court, leaning left, has recently upheld a lower court decision to ban mobile voting \u2062units while allowing alternate absentee ballot \u200dcollection sites that do not provide a \u201cpartisan advantage.\u201d The high court&#8217;s decision reflects an ongoing debate about election integrity and electoral procedures. Despite the temporary ban\u2063 on mobile voting units\u2014described\u2064 as \u2064\u201cvoting booths on wheels\u201d\u2014the court has \u200dmaintained the established practice of alternative \u2063absentee balloting locations, which has been in place since 2016. The court&#8217;s decision aims to avoid \u200cconfusion and maintain continuity\u200c in the election process ahead\u200b of the \u2062primaries and general\u200b elections. The case, involving \u200cthe city of \u200cRacine\u2019s use of a &#8220;Mobile Election Unit&#8221; funded by significant grants\u2014critically dubbed \u201cZuckbucks\u201d after Facebook founder Mark\u200b Zuckerberg\u2014highlighted concerns about the potential for partisan advantages, prompting\u200c legal challenges. The\u200c ruling underscores the complex interplay\u2062 of legal, political, and practical factors shaping electoral practices in\u2063 Wisconsin.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>In a victory for election integrity, the left-led Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ban on mobile voting units \u2014 at least for now. But the same <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wispolitics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/240611Order.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4-3 ruling<\/a> hands Democrats a win in staying the circuit court\u2019s ruling barring alternate absentee ballot collection sites \u201cin locations that confer a \u2018partisan advantage\u2019\u201d to one party, as <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/statutes\/statutes\/6\/iv\/855\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">state law <\/a>dictates. <\/p>\n<p>Wisconsin\u2019s high court is expected to rule on the merits of the case sometime in the fall.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1506052480\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0627bad32df849037adb9ad75e575675 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0627bad32df849037adb9ad75e575675\"><\/div>\n<p>In its ruling staying the order on alternate sites, the liberal majority employed the oft-turned argument that changing \u201cthe status quo that has governed every election since 2016\u201d would confuse the process and the voter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this stage, just months before the August primary and November general elections, there is a risk that the circuit court\u2019s ruling will disrupt ongoing preparations for those elections by creating uncertainty about which sites may be designated as alternate absentee balloting locations,\u201d the ruling states. \u201cGranting a stay will, as mentioned previously, simply ensure that the status quo since 2016 continues to govern through the next election.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>But the use of the mobile voting units, described as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/story.php\/?story_fbid=567047045427725&#038;id=100063673021945&#038;paipv=0&#038;eav=AfbOKqKvy0Z2R3hRullCNGgmuQSL4tj2o6fAY0qsU5G01Xp-EtMf_7uEIo9V7ouPbQE&#038;_rdr\">\u201cvoting booth on wheels,\u201d<\/a> appeared to be a bridge too far for even this far-left court, at least for now. As the ruling states, \u201cthere are counterarguments\u201d diminishing the Democrats\u2019 \u201clikelihood of success on appeal on this issue.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The main counterargument is, in fact, the law \u2014 which clearly does not allow voting booths on wheels in Wisconsin elections. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e49c8dbb0811eac26b5c58a34e02db45 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e49c8dbb0811eac26b5c58a34e02db45\"><\/div>\n<p>As The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/01\/17\/judge-racine-wisconsins-voting-van-unfairly-benefited-democrats-and-was-contrary-to-law\/\">reported<\/a>, the city of Racine <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Racine_PB_Formatted8.8.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">purchased<\/a> a \u201cMobile Election Unit\u201d in 2021, tapping into more than $200,000 of the nearly $1.7 million the Democrat enclave received in \u201cZuckbucks.\u201d The funding was part of <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/05\/in-opposite-day-logic-usa-today-breathlessly-defends-zuckerbucks\/\">some $10 million<\/a> handed out statewide in so-called election administration grants funded by private billionaire and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The southeastern Wisconsin city of nearly 80,000 residents located on the shores of Lake Michigan used the mobile voting unit to reach as many voters as possible,<strong> <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-racine-wisconsins-voting-van-unfairly-benefited-democrats-and-was-contrary-to-law\/\" title=\"Judge: Voting Van in Racine, Wisconsin Unfairly Favored Democrats, Violated Law\">local elections officials claimed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But as one election integrity watchdog told me, Racine\u2019s mobile voting van \u2014 the only one of its kind in the Badger State \u2014 isn\u2019t about access; it\u2019s all about turnout: Specifically, turning out Democrat voters.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Obtained by Unlawful Procedures\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>In January, Racine County Circuit Court Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/will-wins-election-integrity-lawsuit\/#:~:text=The%20Racine%20County%20Circuit%20Court,was%20illegal%20under%20state%20law.\">declared<\/a> that nothing in state law allowed for the use of the voting van, and further found that its use at multiple, particular sites around the city gave Democrats a partisan advantage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo defendant or intervenor can point to any statute authorizing the use of mobile (van) absentee ballot sites; instead, the defendants argue no statute expressly prohibits them,\u201d the judge concluded in his January <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Brown-v.-WEC-Decision.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruling<\/a>. \u201cThe absence of an express prohibition, however, does not mean mobile absentee ballot sites comport to procedures specified in the election laws.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ae3b0fbc7816f6b432cf2b52784033bb fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ae3b0fbc7816f6b432cf2b52784033bb\"><\/div>\n<p>Racine County GOP chairman Ken Brown first filed the complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC), the state\u2019s feckless regulator found to have advised local elections officials on multiple occasions to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maciverinstitute.com\/2022\/09\/the-wisconsin-elections-commission-violates-wisconsin-lawagain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">violate state elections law<\/a>. Brown argued WEC should instruct Racine\u2019s city clerk that alternate ballot sites must be in locations that \u201cconfer no partisan advantage\u201d and must not \u201cbe permitted at a mobile location.\u201d The commission dismissed the complaint, finding Brown had failed to show probable cause that the city had violated the law. <\/p>\n<p>Brown appealed to the circuit court, where he won on both counts. WEC was joined by the Democratic National Committee, Racine\u2019s clerk, and the leftist voting activist group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blocbybloc.org\/our-vision\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Black Leaders Organizing for Communities<\/a> (BLOC) in seeking a stay while they appealed the judge\u2019s ruling. The judge said no.<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cElection outcomes obtained by unlawful procedures corrupt the institution of voting, degrading the very foundation of free government,\u201d Gasiorkiewicz wrote in his original ruling, citing <a href=\"https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/clark-v-quick#p566\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Clark v. Quick<\/em><\/a>. \u201cUnlawful votes do not dilute lawful votes so much as they pollute them, which in turn pollutes the integrity of the results.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>As the <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Brown-v.-WEC-Decision.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">complaint<\/a> notes, in late 2021, the Racine Common Council approved 158 \u201calternative absentee voting locations\u201d to be used in the 2022 elections. City Clerk Tara McMenamin selected 22 of the approved sites for Wisconsin\u2019s 2022 primary election <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Brown-v.-WEC-Decision.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">including<\/a> \u201ccommunity centers, schools, a museum, a park, a beach, a mall, [and] a coffee shop\u201d available for absentee voting in three-hour increments. Absentee voting \u201calso took place at City Hall,\u201d where the clerk\u2019s office was located. <\/p>\n<p>But elections officials didn\u2019t use the actual sites. Instead, they <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/will-wins-election-integrity-lawsuit\/#:~:text=The%20Racine%20County%20Circuit%20Court,was%20illegal%20under%20state%20law.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">drove<\/a> their \u201cMobile Election Unit\u201d to the locations and parked nearby.<strong> <\/strong>Voting took place in the van.<\/p>\n<p>Again, the mobile voting unit was courtesy of the Zuckbucks largesse. <\/p>\n<p>As has been well <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/10\/12\/the-2020-election-wasnt-stolen-it-was-bought-by-mark-zuckerberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">documented<\/a>, the leftist leaders of Wisconsin\u2019s five largest cities \u2014 Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, and Racine, known as the \u201cWisconsin Five\u201d \u2014 got a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefga.org\/research\/the-wisconsin-zuckerbucks-problem\/#:~:text=Zuckerbucks%20Flowed%20Into%20Democrat%20Strongholds,were%20funneled%20into%20the%20state.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">huge assist<\/a> from the Zuckerberg donations, funneled through the left-wing Center for Tech &#038; Civic Life. Zuckerberg and his wife contributed hundreds of millions of dollars, much of which was ultimately used to target liberal voters in swing states like Wisconsin before the 2020 election. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Courts Stay Orders, Not Interpretations\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Nothing in Wisconsin law specifically prohibited Big Tech billionaire grants administered by former Democratic Party operatives from being used in election administration during the 2020 election. That changed earlier this year when Badger State voters <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/05\/in-opposite-day-logic-usa-today-breathlessly-defends-zuckerbucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">overwhelmingly endorsed a ballot issue<\/a> banning private funding in elections. <\/p>\n<p>But the law on polling sites is so clear that even a leftist-led state Supreme Court accused of bench activism hasn\u2019t yet been able to massage a ruling to get around it. All polling places \u201cshall be public buildings, unless the use of a public building \u2026 is impracticable or the use of a nonpublic building better serves the needs of the electorate,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/statutes\/statutes\/5\/i\/35\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">state law<\/a>. Nothing in the statute turns over the ballot collection keys to a \u201cvoting booth on wheels.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Still, the ruling gives political cover to the mobile unit\u2019s defenders while scolding the lower court judge. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnlike the circuit court\u2019s conclusion about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/unanimous-wisconsin-supreme-court-rejects-racine-mobile-voting-van-keep-polling-places\/\" title=\"Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously rules against Racine mobile voting van, upholds traditional polling sites\">alternate absentee ballot sites<\/a>, this part of the circuit court\u2019s ruling does not restrict the ability of Racine (or any other municipality) to designate multiple alternate absentee ballot locations,\u201d the order <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wispolitics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/240611Order.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">states.<\/a> \u201cMoreover, as noted by the circuit court in its order denying a stay, Racine appears to be the only municipality in the state that used a mobile election unit. For these reasons, there is little risk that denying a stay will result in widespread confusion, or will otherwise disrupt preparations for upcoming elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Justice Brian Hagedorn, a swing vote on the court, wrote in a concurring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wispolitics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/240611Order.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opinion<\/a> that the majority \u201cmisrepresents the circuit court\u2019s decision and then manipulates the factors to be considered when assessing a stay pending appeal.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Hagedorn notes there\u2019s a whole lot of assuming going on in the majority opinion, effectively staying the lower court\u2019s analysis on a point in law \u2014 not the court\u2019s order. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis makes no sense. Courts stay orders, not interpretations,\u201d the justice wrote. \u201cUndeterred by this basic rule, the majority stays the circuit court\u2019s interpretation [of statute] language on \u2018partisan advantage,\u2019 not the order itself, and simply assumes the circuit court adopted a view of the statute it never proffered\u2014\u2014either woefully misreading, or intentionally misrepresenting, the circuit court\u2019s written ruling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wisconsin Institute for Law &#038; Liberty<\/a> (WILL), a Milwaukee-based, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/limbaugh-baker-jack-phillips-a-cultural-hero\/\" title=\"LIMBAUGH: Baker Jack Phillips \u2013 A Cultural Hero\">public-interest law firm<\/a>, filed the lawsuit on behalf of Brown. Rick Esenberg, WILL\u2019s president and general counsel, said the ruling is a victory for election integrity. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt leaves the order in place. There aren\u2019t going to be any mobile voting vans until someone vacates the order,\u201d he told me in an interview Thursday. \u201cThe vans were inconsistent with the statutes for the reasons that we argued and that order precludes them from being used.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2938551a1a9139b59f940008b4f9f314 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2938551a1a9139b59f940008b4f9f314\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a win for election integrity, the left-leaning Wisconsin Supreme, upheld a ban on mobile voting units, maintaining a lower court&#8217;s decision. However, in a 4-3 ruling, it favored Democrats by staying a ruling against alternate absentee ballot collection sites that provide a &#8220;partisan advantage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2267940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-13-at-3.08.35-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2267939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-13-at-3.08.35-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2267939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2267939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2267939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2267940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2267939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2267939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2267939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}