MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin voters who have already returned their absentee ballots could void those and request a new one under a lawsuit filed Thursday by three people supported by the state’s Democratic Party, which is going through a chaotic primary for governor.The move would allow voters who have already cast their ballot for a candidate who has dropped out of the race to cast a new ballot. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out last week, and a day later, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who had bowed out on July 8, reentered the race.Rodriguez’s name remains on the ballot, along with former state economic development director Missy Hughes, who dropped out in June. The winner of the primary will advance to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has only token opposition in his party’s primary. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is not seeking a third term, and his party hopes to keep the office and flip both chambers of the Legislature to gain full control of state government for the first time since 2010.
There is not much time for courts to act on the lawsuit before the Aug. 11 primary. The voters filed the lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court, located in Wisconsin’s liberal capital city of Madison.The lawsuit asks a judge to order the Wisconsin Elections Commission not to distribute its guidance to the roughly 2,000 clerks who run elections at the local level that says voters can’t request a new ballot. The commission voted on July 9 to issue the guidance.
