{"id":2288439,"date":"2024-07-03T08:13:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T12:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-appeal-wi-leftist-judges-absentee-ballot-changes\/"},"modified":"2024-07-03T08:19:05","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T12:19:05","slug":"republicans-appeal-wi-leftist-judges-absentee-ballot-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-appeal-wi-leftist-judges-absentee-ballot-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans Appeal WI Leftist Judge&#8217;s Absentee Ballot Changes"},"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\">16<\/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%2Frepublicans-appeal-wi-leftist-judges-absentee-ballot-changes%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=2288439&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>GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin are appealing\u2064 a\u2064 decision by a Dane County judge\u200b that allows voters with disabilities to\u2063 electronically obtain absentee\u2063 ballots. The order has raised \u2063concerns\u200c from Wisconsin&#8217;s Democrat-led Department of \u2062Justice due to\u2063 potential\u200d security and logistical challenges. The judge&#8217;s order permits voters with print-reading disabilities\u2062 to receive absentee ballots electronically, a privilege currently only granted\u200c to military members \u2062and those traveling overseas. This\u2063 decision has\u2062 sparked a legal battle as the legislature\u200d seeks to stop its implementation. Both Republicans and Democrats \u2063are divided on\u200c the issue of \u2062expanding mail-in voting in Wisconsin, with Republicans prioritizing election integrity. The outcome\u2064 of \u2064this case could impact how \u2063Wisconsinites cast their ballots in the\u200c upcoming election, highlighting the partisan divide in the state&#8217;s legal and political landscape.  <\/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<div>\n<p>GOP lawmakers in critical swing-state Wisconsin are appealing a far-left Dane County judge\u2019s decision sidestepping state election law and allowing voters with disabilities to electronically obtain absentee ballots. <\/p>\n<p>The order also has drawn the concerns of Wisconsin\u2019s Democrat-led Department of Justice, which argues that the electronic distribution of ballots to certain disabled voters presents significant security and logistical challenges. <\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, the legally suspect order was issued by <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Everett_Mitchell\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Judge Everett Mitchell<\/a>, who took heat years ago for asserting at a public forum that shoplifters who steal from big-box retailers <a href=\"https:\/\/captimes.com\/news\/local\/writers\/steven_elbow\/uw-official-draws-fire-over-remarks-critical-of-prosecuting-shoplifters\/article_932ac01c-f1f4-5a4c-912d-2661f81606f4.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shouldn\u2019t be prosecuted<\/a>. <\/p>\n<h2>Tens of Thousands of Voters<\/h2>\n<p>Majority Republicans in the legislature last week filed their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wispolitics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/240628Notice.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">notice of appeal <\/a>with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wicourts.gov\/contact\/Court_of_Appeals.html#:~:text=District%20II%20-%20Calumet,%20Fond%20Du,,%20Washington,%20Waukesha,%20Winnebago%20Counties&#038;text=NEUBAUER,%20HON.,LISA%20S.&#038;text=LAZAR,%20HON.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wisconsin Court of Appeals 2nd District<\/a> seeking to stop the implementation of Mitchell\u2019s order. <\/p>\n<p>Late last month, Mitchell sided with plaintiffs, including Disability Rights Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wispolitics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/240416Lawsuit.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit<\/a> asserting that eligible voters with print-reading disabilities who require assistance must forego their right to a secret ballot under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-gop-advances-two-election-integrity-bills\/\" title=\"Arizona GOP Advances Two Election Integrity Bills\">current state law<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit contends that Wisconsin is not currently complying with \u201cmyriad accommodation and equal-access requirements under state and federal law \u2026 to ensure that voters with disabilities receive the equal protection guaranteed under the Wisconsin Constitution to cast their votes in secret, like Wisconsin voters without disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The judge\u2019s order permits voters with such disabilities to electronically obtain an absentee ballot. Only military members and those traveling overseas are currently permitted to electronically obtain absentee ballots in Wisconsin. <\/p>\n<p>Mitchell granted the liberal groups\u2019 motion for emergency declaratory relief and a temporary injunction, enjoining \u201cprovisions of the Wisconsin Statutes prohibiting municipal clerks from distributing absentee ballots by email,\u201d the legislature\u2019s notice of appeal states. The judge also ordered the Wisconsin Elections Commission \u201cto facilitate the delivery of emailed ballots to self-certifying print-disabled electors for the November 2024 general election.\u201d And Mitchell \u201cdeclared that to be accessible, an emailed absentee ballot must be capable of being read and marked by digital assistive technology such as a screen reader.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sight-impaired voters would still have to return completed ballots in person or by mail, like all other Badger State absentee voters, according to Mitchell\u2019s order. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNearly 100,000 Wisconsin adults suffer from vision difficulties, according to statistics compiled by state health officials,\u201d The Associated Press <a href=\"https:\/\/pbswisconsin.org\/news-item\/wisconsin-republican-lawmakers-appeal-ruling-allowing-disabled-people-to-obtain-ballots-electronically\/#:~:text=Nearly%20100,000%20Wisconsin%20adults%20suffer,reaching,%20lifting%20or%20carrying%20things.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported.<\/a> <\/p>\n<h2>Changing the Rules<\/h2>\n<p>Misha Tseytlin, attorney for the Republican lawmakers, said he forwarded The Federalist\u2019s request for comment to his clients. The lawmakers have not responded. The Associated Press <a href=\"https:\/\/pbswisconsin.org\/news-item\/wisconsin-republican-lawmakers-appeal-ruling-allowing-disabled-people-to-obtain-ballots-electronically\/#:~:text=Nearly%20100,000%20Wisconsin%20adults%20suffer,reaching,%20lifting%20or%20carrying%20things.\">reported<\/a> that the GOP legislators will argue that the Dane County judge was wrong in granting the temporary injunction in part because Mitchell\u2019s order disrupts election law late in the election year.  <\/p>\n<p>Josh Kaul, the Badger State\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-appointed-judge-issues-order-blocking-texas-law-that-protects-unborn-babies\/\" title=\"Obama-Appointed Judge Issues Order Blocking Texas Law That Protects Unborn Babies\">leftist attorney general<\/a>, seems to agree with the GOP lawmakers. His attorneys in the Wisconsin Department of Justice,<a href=\"https:\/\/pbswisconsin.org\/news-item\/kaul-argues-against-allowing-disabled-wisconsin-voters-to-cast-ballots-electronically-from-home\/#:~:text=Keckhaver%20told%20Mitchell%20that%20an,whether%20a%20voter%20is%20disabled.\"> according to<\/a> the AP, argued that changing the rules at this late stage of the game would cause confusion and present security risks. They also assert that there isn\u2019t enough time to educate hundreds of local elections officials around the state on new procedures before the presidential election. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis court cannot change the rules of the election now \u2026 regardless of how hard or easy it is to make those changes,\u201d Assistant Attorney General Karla Keckhaver told Mitchell at a June 24 hearing. <\/p>\n<p>Mitchell\u2019s order also changes election statutes that clearly define who can and cannot obtain absentee ballots electronically.<\/p>\n<p>Wisconsin Democrats have long attempted to expand mail-in voting, while Republicans have sought to check election integrity threats.  <\/p>\n<h2>Leftist Court of Last Resort<\/h2>\n<p>Left-wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/organization\/democracy-docket-legal-fund-ddlf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Democracy Docket,<\/a> founded by Russia dossier peddler and Democrat Party fixer<a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/person\/marc-elias\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Marc Elias<\/a>, declares the obvious in a recent post. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe state judiciary will play a role in determining where and how Wisconsinites cast their ballots this fall, as judges weigh a number of important cases like the drop-box prohibition before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracydocket.com\/cases\/wisconsin-absentee-voting-procedures-challenge\/\">case<\/a>, the majority-liberal bench <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracydocket.com\/news-alerts\/wisconsin-supreme-court-to-consider-reinstating-ballot-drop-boxes-for-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">is considering<\/a> whether to overturn a July 2022 decision handed down by a conservative majority in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracydocket.com\/cases\/wisconsin-drop-box-challenge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Commission<\/em><\/a>  that virtually banned the use of drop boxes in the state,\u201d the leftist lawfare-associated site <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracydocket.com\/analysis\/will-election-denialism-plague-wisconsin-once-again-officials-set-stage-for-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">notes.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>The courts could play a <em>pivotal<\/em> role, as they did in 2020, in determining the winner of the election in battleground Wisconsin \u2014 and ultimately who wins the White House. Wisconsin\u2019s liberal-majority Supreme Court has already signaled how it will inject itself into the election, while Mitchell proved once again why Democrats and their election integrity-attacking allies take their complaints to the Dane County Circuit Court. <\/p>\n<p>Mitchell was first elected to the court in <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Everett_Mitchell\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2016<\/a>. He unsuccessfully ran last year for the state Supreme Court seat that was eventually won by far-left candidate <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Janet_Claire_Protasiewicz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Janet Protasiewicz<\/a>, who <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/wisconsin-supreme-court-impeach-865fadb85762b0039490f218da3b8db8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">repeatedly signaled<\/a> during her campaign that she would protect the left\u2019s agenda and has shown as much during her first year on the bench. <\/p>\n<p>Before being elected to the Dane County bench, Mitchell served as director of community relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During a 2015 panel discussion, Mitchell, who is black, said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/public-radio-reporter-arrested-for-firebombing-police-cars\/\" title=\"Public Radio \u201cReporter\u201d Arrested For Firebombing Police Cars\">law enforcement officials<\/a> were too aggressive in arresting and prosecuting shoplifters stealing from \u201cbig box\u201d stores. The retailers have insurance, after all.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just don\u2019t think that they should be prosecuting cases \u2026 for people who steal from Wal-Mart,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/captimes.com\/news\/local\/writers\/steven_elbow\/uw-official-draws-fire-over-remarks-critical-of-prosecuting-shoplifters\/article_932ac01c-f1f4-5a4c-912d-2661f81606f4.html\">he said<\/a> at the time. \u201cI just don\u2019t think that. I don\u2019t think Target or all them other places, the big boxes that have insurance, that they should be using \u2026 the fact that people steal from there, justification to start engaging in aggressive police practices.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Mitchell, who formerly <a href=\"https:\/\/www3.uwsp.edu\/conted\/Documents\/MHSUR\/Mitchell%20Bio.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">worked as a prosecutor<\/a> with the \u201csocial justice\u201d-pushing Dane County district attorney\u2019s office, declared that law enforcement agents cracking down on retail theft were justifying why \u201cthey\u2019re going to overpolice our children.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>So perhaps it\u2019s no surprise that the far-left Dane County judge is being accused of disregarding the law and election integrity as he \u2014 from the bench \u2014 makes significant changes to Wisconsin election statute.  <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-knew-100-percent-he-was-fighting-for-the-little-guy-former-top-trump-economic-adviser\/\" title=\"Trump Knew \u2018100 Percent\u2019 He Was \u2018Fighting for the Little Guy\u2019: Former Top Trump Economic Adviser\">award-winning investigative reporter<\/a> and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin are challenging a judge&#8217;s decision to allow voters with disabilities to electronically obtain absentee ballots, arguing that it presents security and logistical challenges. The judge, Everett Mitchell, who has faced criticism in the past for controversial statements, issued the order in response to a lawsuit filed by disability rights groups. The lawmakers have filed an appeal to stop the implementation of the order, which they believe disrupts election law. The state&#8217;s attorney general also expressed concerns about changing the rules so close to the election, citing potential confusion and security risks. The decision by the judge to allow electronically obtained absentee ballots for voters with disabilities has sparked debate over election integrity and the role of the judiciary in shaping election outcomes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2288440,"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\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-03-at-1.18.59-AM-1024x517.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[7584,3756,33754],"class_list":["post-2288439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-appeal","tag-republicans","tag-wi"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-03-at-1.18.59-AM-1024x517.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2288439","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=2288439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2288439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2288440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2288439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2288439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2288439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}