A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit claiming that Wisconsin's requirement for witnesses to sign for absentee voters clashes with federal law.
The challengers said that the Voting Rights Act unilaterally bars requiring absentee voters to prove their qualifications, making the Wisconsin requirement illegal.
The law states that among requirements to vote by mail, another adult must observe the voter filling out the ballot and signing a statement that says in part, "The above statements are true and the voting procedure was executed as there stated."
"If defendants are correct, there would be no violation of the Voting Rights Act. As other courts have held, a witness does not vouch for a voter's qualifications by simply confirming with a signature what he or she observed," Judge Peterson, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said.
If they were correct, "Every witness would have to determine the voter's age, residence, citizenship, criminal history, whether the voter is unable or unwilling to vote in person, whether the voter has voted at another location or is planning to do so, whether the voter is capable of understanding the objective of the voting process, whether the voter is under a guardianship, and, if so, whether a court has determined that the voter is competent," he said.
He added later, "If plaintiffs' interpretation were correct, it would mean that countless absentee ballots over decades were invalid because the witness certified that the voter was qualified to vote and met the other requirements in the first voter certification, even though the witness had no basis for such a certification."
The challengers never provided evidence of any witnesses being penalized for not confirming a voter's qualifications, and the Wisconsin Elections Commission's guidance does not mention witnesses taking any steps to confirm voters are eligible to vote, the ruling noted.
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