The lawsuit argued that Wisconsin’s elections commission has not been following state rules for absentee voting.
A Wisconsin judge on Monday tossed a lawsuit that challenged absentee voting rules in the state.
Door County Circuit Judge David Weber delivered an oral ruling that dismissed the case, which was brought by voter Thomas Oldenburg, after a hearing that lasted approximately 91 minutes, according to the court docket.
Court documents did not elaborate on Judge Weber’s rationale for the ruling.
Lawyers for Mr. Oldenburg and the Wisconsin Elections Commission, whose rules were challenged by the suit, have not yet reacted to the ruling.
Mr. Oldenburg, a resident of Amberg, Wisconsin, argued in the
lawsuit, filed in February, that the elections commission has not been following state law requiring voters who request absentee ballots electronically to “return with the voted ballot a copy of the request bearing an original signature of the elector.”
Attorneys for the election commission had
argued that it was sufficient for voters to sign a form that the Wisconsin Elections Commission created for clerks to provide to absentee voters with their ballots.
Wisconsin allows any voter to request paper absentee ballots and file them by mail.
However, under state law, only people who serve in the military or live outside the country can receive ballots electronically. A separate order from earlier this year
added disabled voters to the list.
Wisconsin is a battleground state that has seen various election rules challenged in recent years. Former President Donald Trump won the state in 2016, but President Joe Biden emerged victorious among Wisconsin voters in 2020.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
