Wisconsin Elections Commission again says do-over votes not allowed

Elections Commission chairman Don Millis wrote an op-ed for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that explains Wisconsin’s “spoiled ballot” law and refutes claims from other Elections Commission members who claim the state changed the rules in the middle of the election for governor.

"The law is clear. A clerk provides a replacement ballot only when the voter brings the spoiled or damaged ballot to the clerk," Millis wrote. "The law does not contemplate a voter returning a ballot to the clerk and then sometime later asking the clerk for the ballot back so the voter can change his or her vote."

A number of Democrat voters have sued to try and get a second chance to vote after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out of the governor's race.

No one is saying how many votes Rodriguez got during the early absentee period, but election managers say more than 90,000 people have already voted ahead of the Aug. 11 primary.

Millis added that with that many votes cast, allowing some voters a do-over would be almost impossible.

"If the Democratic Party prevails and clerks are told they must return ballots to voters so they can vote for a different candidate, not only would this be inconsistent with the law, it would be a disaster to the administration of the election," he wrote.

Millis said the Elections Commission never contemplated guidance on do-over votes but said "we probably should have."

Election Commission member Ann Jacobs, however, is on the opposite side of Millis' reading of Wisconsin's ballot spoilage law. She said the Commission should give voters a second chance.

“The Commission’s guidance… unlawfully treats absentee voters worse than voters who cast their ballots on Election Day. Voters who vote on Election Day can spoil their ballot twice and obtain up to two new ballots. Treating absentee voters differently violates equal protection,” Jacobs posted on X.

Jacobs and Elections Commission member Mark Thomsen on Monday asked to join the lawsuit over the do-over ballots.

Millis, however, warned that Jacobs' reading of the law could end-up hurting the election integrity goal that the Commission has worked so hard to uphold.

"I understand why voters who have already cast their ballots for any candidate — the guidance the Democratic Party wants reinstated would not be limited just to candidates who withdrew — might want to change their vote. But the costs and risks of such a policy are just too great and is inconsistent with Wisconsin law," Millis said.