WI Court Allows Mailed Ballots That Arrived After Election to be Counted

Early last month, Voters in Wisconsin navigated a dizzying number of Rule Changes Governing the State’s Elections as Officials tussled over the Risks of the Covid-19, prompting a Backlog of Absentee Ballot Requests and Fears that many would Not be able to Participate.

But in the end, Tens of Thousands Mail Ballots, that Arrived after the April 7th Primary Vote were Counted by Local Officials, the unexpected Result of last-minute Intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Milwaukee and Madison alone, the State’s Two Largest Cities, more than 10% of All Votes Counted, nearly 21,000 Ballots, Arrived by Mail after April 7th, according to Data provided by Local Election Officials.

The surprising Outcome after Warnings that many Wisconsinites would be Disenfranchised amid the Pandemic was the Result of a largely Unexamined aspect of the Court’s Decision that Temporarily Changed which Ballots were Counted. Because of the Order, Election Officials for the First Time tallied Absentee Ballots Postmarked by Voting Day, rather than just those Received by then, underscoring the Power of Narrow Court Decisions to significantly Shape which Votes are Counted.

Democrats think they have Secured a Game-Changing Precedent from the Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 Order. In the Past Week alone, Lawsuits Bankrolled by Democratic Committees have been Filed in Four States seeking similar Postmark Rules and citing the Wisconsin Opinion to bolster their Argument, with more Cases are expected in the coming week.

Republicans, meanwhile, say they are prepared to Spend millions of dollars to Oppose these Efforts, arguing that Extending Ballot Deadlines creates an Opportunity for Fraud. Some have also been Open in their View that Higher Turnout could Harm them Politically. On March 30th, President Trump said that if Democratic efforts to expand mail balloting succeeded, “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.”

In all, more than 30,000 Votes arrived after Voting Day in 11 Cities, more than 10% of All Votes Cast in those Cities. In Brookfield, a Western Suburb of Milwaukee in Conservative Waukesha County, the figure was closer to 15%.

Several Election Officials said some Post Offices do Not use Postmarks with Dates, but that their hands were tied by the High Court’s Ruling.










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