Swansenreport

Once a ballot’s in the clerk’s hands, is it final? Wisconsin’s elections commission and the state Democratic Party can’t agree, and the fight is landing eleven days before a primary that’s already been unusually messy.

The commission voted July 9 to scrap ballot-spoiling guidance it had issued back in May and replace it with something new, after clerks flagged questions ahead of August’s primary. The vote split down party lines. Four to two. Chair Don Millis, a Republican appointee, defends it on practical grounds: “The more you handle ballots, the more you open up the sealed bags in which they’re located or the sealed storage areas,” he said. “You’re inviting opportunities for error.” Wi + 2

Here’s why the timing matters. Democratic voters have been watching their field collapse and reform in real time. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and former WEDC CEO Missy Hughes both suspended their campaigns. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley dropped out, then jumped back in with Governor Evers’ endorsement. All of that happened while more than 80,000 people had already mailed back their absentee ballots. Some unknown number of those ballots now carry votes for a candidate who’s either gone or wasn’t in the race yet when the voter filled it out. Wisconsin ExaminerWisconsin Examiner

So on July 22, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin sent a letter. Party attorney Diane Welsh told WEC Chair Millis that “the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has an interest in ensuring that its voters have a valid voice in the primary elections,” and that letting voters spoil already-submitted ballots “will advance this interest.” It “protects the voters’ right to meaningfully participate in the democratic process,” she added. The letter goes further, arguing WEC’s new reading of the law actually contradicts state statute, constitutional principle, and arguments the commission’s own attorney — AG Josh Kaul — has made on WEC’s behalf in the past. CBS58 + 3

None of this is happening in a vacuum. Voters used to be able to cancel a submitted ballot for any reason, within deadline, no questions asked — until a 2022 lawsuit got a Waukesha County judge to bar the practice. An appeals court threw out that ruling in February, on procedural grounds. To Democratic Party Chair Devin Remiker, this is just the old normal trying to reassert itself. “Allowing voters to spoil and recast their ballots was standard practice in Wisconsin,” he said, “prior to attempts by Republicans to file frivolous lawsuits to muddy the waters.” WisPoliticsWisPolitics

WEC isn’t moving. Millis told CBS 58 he has no plans to revisit the guidance. Commissioner Ann Jacobs, one of the two no votes on July 9, has kept airing her objections on X. Nobody’s backing down, and the clock doesn’t care — August 11 is coming whether this gets resolved or not. CBS58

Sources: Democrats ask Wisconsin elections commission to rescind absentee ballot guidance, WBAY, https://www.wbay.com/2026/07/21/democrats-ask-wisconsin-elections-commission-rescind-absentee-ballot-guidance/; Wisconsin Democrats push elections commission to rescind guidance on absentee ballot revotes, Wisconsin Examiner, https://wisconsinexaminer.com/briefs/wisconsin-democrats-push-elections-commission-to-rescind-guidance-on-absentee-ballot-revotes/; Wisconsin Democrats call for WEC to retract guidance cutting down on absentee ballot do-overs, CBS 58, https://www.cbs58.com/news/wisconsin-democrats-call-for-wec-to-retract-guidance-cutting-down-on-absentee-ballot-do-overs; Elections Commission Chair Millis rebuffs call to allow changing cast absentee ballots, WisPolitics, https://www.wispolitics.com/2026/elections-commission-chair-millis-rebuffs-call-to-allow-changing-cast-absentee-ballots/; UPDATED Ballot Spoiling Guidance, Wisconsin Elections Commission, https://elections.wi.gov/memo/updated-ballot-spoiling-guidance