MADISON, Wis. (AP) 鈥� A Wisconsin judge on Monday, less than 14 hours before polls opened, refused to order that military absentee ballots be pulled aside and sequestered until it can be verified that they were cast legally, saying that would be a 鈥渄rastic remedy" that could disenfranchise voters.
The Republican chair of the Wisconsin Assembly's elections committee along with a veterans group and other voters sued on Friday, seeking a court order to sequester the ballots.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Maxwell denied that request for a temporary restraining order in a ruling from the bench following a two-hour hearing Monday afternoon.
鈥淭hat just seems to be a drastic remedy,鈥� he said of sequestering the ballots.
The judge also denied a request from state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, who was represented by attorneys from the conservative Thomas More Society, to order the elections commission to withdraw its guidance to clerks about absentee ballots from members of the military. Brandtjen has pushed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
The judge said the case did raise questions about whether the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission was adequately informing the state鈥檚 1,800-plus election clerks about their duty to maintain a list of eligible military voters.
The lawsuit comes after a top Milwaukee County with fraudulently requesting three military ballots using fake names and having them sent to Brandtjen as way to expose vulnerabilities in Wisconsin elections. Kimberly Zapata, deputy director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, was and now faces charges of felony misconduct in office and three misdemeanor counts of election fraud.
Michael Gableman, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who was hired by Republicans to investigate the 2020 election, now works for the Thomas More Society and represented Brandtjen. He argued that legitimate military absentee voters could have their votes negated by fraudulent ones, and the only way to prevent that was to sequester all the ballots to ensure they're valid.
鈥淗ow else could we possibly ensure that only the authentic military ballots are counted?鈥� Gableman said.
Lynn Lodahl, an assistant attorney general representing the elections commission, called that a 鈥渃ompletely unworkable request鈥� with no legal basis.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no process in the statutes for sequestration,鈥� she said. "The plaintiffs don鈥檛 explain what this means. They don鈥檛 explain how this will work.鈥�
Military ballots comprise a tiny fraction of all ballots cast in the state. On average, they represent about 0.07% of all absentee ballots requested, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. In the 2018 election, 2,700 military ballots were requested and as of Thursday, 2,747 military ballots had been requested for the current election.
In Wisconsin, military voters are not required to register to vote, meaning they don鈥檛 need to provide a photo ID to request an absentee ballot.
All absentee ballots must be received by the close of polls at 8 p.m. Tuesday in order to be counted. As of Sunday, more than had been returned.
The Union Veterans Council, a constituency group of the AFL-CIO, intervened in the lawsuit. The group鈥檚 executive director, Will Attig, called the lawsuit a pointless 鈥渁ttack on people who are actively serving this country.鈥�
Chris Yatchak, chair of the group鈥檚 Milwaukee chapter, said during a virtual news conference Monday that the lawsuit was an 鈥渙utrageous attempt by a single individual to try and cast doubt on a free and fair election process.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 just appalled at this,鈥� Yatchak said. 鈥滻t鈥檚 a disgusting act.鈥�
The case is certain to increase the pressure on the bipartisan state elections commission, which Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels has said he wants to eliminate if he wins Tuesday's election.
from his investigatory job earlier this year by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos after his work was widely ridiculed and did not present any evidence to overcome President Joe Biden's victory. He previously representing Harry Wait, who was charged with election fraud and identity theft after requesting and receiving absentee ballots in the names of legislators and local officials in July.
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Follow the AP鈥檚 coverage of the 2022 midterm elections at . And learn more about the issues and factors at play in the midterms at .
Scott Bauer, The Associated Press
