A Wisconsin judge ruled Tuesday that the state’s absentee voting system discriminates against disabled voters by denying them the ability to cast ballots privately and independently, but the ruling did not order election officials to offer electronic absentee ballots before the midterm elections.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed in 2024 by Disability Rights Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters, and four disabled voters, who argued that the lack of an electronic absentee voting option violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying disabled voters the ability to vote independently and privately.
Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell found that Wisconsin’s paper-only absentee ballot system violates the rights of disabled voters who cannot complete a paper ballot without assistance. However, he declined to require the state to implement electronic absentee voting, saying the parties continue to dispute whether it is a reasonable remedy. A trial on that question is expected in August, making it unlikely any changes will take effect before the November election.
Mitchell’s decision follows a legal back-and-forth over the issue. In 2024, he issued a temporary injunction directing the state to offer electronic absentee ballots to certain disabled voters. An appeals court later overturned that order, finding the injunction would have improperly and “significantly disrupted the status quo,” and sent the case back to the lower court.
In Tuesday’s ruling, Mitchell reaffirmed that Wisconsin’s absentee ballot program “denies disabled people the equal opportunity to vote absentee privately and independently.”
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He declined to mandate electronic voting for now, citing unresolved questions over the feasibility, implementation challenges, and security risks of such a system. Under his earlier injunction, voters who self-certified that they could not read or mark a paper ballot without assistance would have been eligible to request an electronic ballot.
Wisconsin already emails absentee ballots to military and overseas voters, but neither the plaintiffs nor the Wisconsin Elections Commission could estimate how many disabled voters would use an electronic absentee ballot option if one were made available. Meanwhile, the Republican-controlled legislature is fighting the measure.