Wisconsin Republicans want to give county clerks another reason to toss ballots

Republican legislators in Wisconsin are looking to give county clerks additional authority to throw out absentee ballots.

GOP legislative leaders have asked the Committee for Review of Administrative Rules to stop efforts by the Wisconsin Elections Commission to continue to permit clerks to "cure" absentee ballots by filling in missing information, which the commission had unanimously approve in 2016 but has become an issue for the state's Republicans after Donald Trump lost in 2020, reported WisPolitics.

“Orderly, consistent, lawful elections are crucial for Wisconsin,” wrote Senate majority leader Devin LeMahieu, assembly speaker Robin Vos and assembly speaker pro tempore Tyler August in their request.

A spokesperson for JCRAR co-chairman Steve Nass, a GOP state senator from Whitewater, said the committee will meet next week to suspend the rule, despite the fact that absentee ballots have already been sent out to voters for the Aug. 9 primary, and the change could result in having different standards for processing those ballots.

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The current rules allow clerks to fix minor issues in the addresses of voters who cast absentee ballots, but the commission is divided on what guidance to offer clerks about their role in handling those ballots after the state Supreme Court's conservative majority found that it's illegal for anyone besides a voter to return a completed absentee ballot.

“Seems as if there’s no limit to how far my Republican colleagues will go to try and stop other people’s votes from counting,” said Senate minority leader Janet Bewley (D-Town of Mason.)