Appeals court finds absentee ballots still count without full witness address

by Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner
July 12, 2024

Absentee ballots in Wisconsin will still count even if witnesses do not provide their full address on the ballot envelope, according to a ruling Thursday from an appeals court. 

Under state law, absentee voters are required to have someone witness them fill out their ballot and sign their absentee ballot envelope while providing their address. The statute that requires the witness signature and address does not define what address means in that context. 

Dane County Circuit Judge Ryan Nilsestuen ruled in January in two cases brought by liberals that clerks can still count ballots if the witness leaves off their municipality or zip code or simply writes “same” or “ditto” if they live at the same address as the voter. 

Republican legislators had asked the appellate court to find that state law actually does require the address to at least include the street number, street name and municipality. 

However the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the included address must be “a place where the witness may be communicated with” from the municipal clerk specifically, who is responsible for mailing absentee ballots to voters and counting them once returned. 

Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor, a former Democratic legislator, wrote in the decision that if the Legislature wanted the witness address to include more components, it could have specifically mandated it. 

The ruling could allow more absentee ballots to be accepted as valid in this year’s elections. In 2020, absentee voting became much more popular in a state in which elections are frequently decided by tiny margins.

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