Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Maxwell turned down a request for an order that would have election officials segregate military absentee ballots until they are properly verified.
The Concerned Veterans of Waukesha County and state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, the Republican who received the fake ballots, said the actions of former Milwaukee Elections Commissioner Deputy Director Kimberly Zapata “exposed” the vulnerability of current Wisconsin Elections Commission guidance on military ballots.
The commission currently says that military voters do not need to register to vote and if they do, they do not need to provide proof of residence. State law, though requires an up-to-date and verified military elector list, the plaintiffs said.
Maxwell rejected the request for a temporary restraining order during a hearing on Monday.
“The reality of it is, on the four criteria that the court has to use to determine whether or not I can grant injunctive relief, there’s not a record here that tells me that I can do that,” Maxwell said during the hearing.
Maxwell said he believes the commission should include information about the military elector list but that he did not think he was able to order the body, at least for now, to do so.
He also said that sequestering ballots would be “a drastic remedy” that was “at a minimum, a temporary disenfranchisement” of military voters.
Maxwell planned to issue a written order explaining his decision.
Erick Kaardal, an attorney for Thomas More Society, which is representing the plaintiffs, had argued that the commission was disregarding state law.
“The Wisconsin Elections Commission’s consistent disregard for the state’s election statutes has created an environment conducive to vote fraud,” he said in a statement. “This situation is particularly egregious as it demonstrates how easily the military absentee mail-in vote can be manipulated due to the commission’s lack of compliance with Wisconsin election law. What a disgraceful way to dishonor our military service men and women and our veterans; by allowing their voting privileges to be abused.”
But Lynn Lodahl, representing the Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office, said that the current law supports not having military voters “on any list.”
The case is not dismissed. The judge set a status hearing for December to consider how to proceed, “if at all.”
