Wisconsin Ballot-Counting Extension on Hold by 7th Circuit Court in Huge Win for Trump

Republicans have claimed that voter fraud may happen through mail-in ballots.

Democrats have denied the accusations.

However, the latest battle has been on how long after the election ballots can be counted.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a major blow to Democrats.

Now, all ballots must be postmarked by election day.

According to the Associated Press:

A federal appeals court on Sunday temporarily halted a six-day extension for counting absentee ballots in Wisconsin’s presidential election, a momentary victory for Republicans and President Donald Trump in the key presidential battleground state.

As it stands, ballots will now be due by 8 p.m. on Election Day. A lower court judge had sided with Democrats and their allies to extend the deadline until Nov. 9. Democrats sought more time as a way to help deal with an expected historic high number of absentee ballots.

The Democratic National Committee, the state Democratic Party and allied groups including the League of Women Voters sued to extend the deadline for counting absentee ballots after the April presidential primary saw long lines, fewer polling places, a shortage of workers and thousands of ballots mailed days after the election.

U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled Sept. 21 that ballots that arrive up to six days after Election Day will count as long as they’re postmarked by Election Day. Sunday’s action puts Conley’s order on hold until the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals or U.S. Supreme Court issues any further action.

No further details were immediately posted by the appeals court.

State election officials anticipate as many as 2 million people will cast absentee ballots to avoid catching the coronavirus at the polls. That would be three times more absentee ballots than any other previous election and could overwhelm both election officials and the postal service, Conley wrote. If the decision had stood it could have delayed knowing the winner of Wisconsin for days.

The Republican National Committee, the state GOP and Wisconsin’s Republican legislators argued that current absentee voting rules be left in place, saying people have plenty of time to obtain and return their ballots.

Will Wisconsin set a precedent for other battleground states?

We hope that leadership in states like Pennsylvania are paying attention!

Surprisingly, both Democrats and Republicans have been pushing voters to vote by mail in Wisconsin.

In general election years, vote-by-mail is usually extremely unpopular.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal has more details:

Democrats and Republicans alike are urging their supporters to vote by mail this fall — and trying to get the more than 1 million Wisconsin voters who have already requested absentee ballots to return them as soon as possible.

Absentee voting is normally a small feature of Wisconsin elections, but it has become a pillar of the presidential campaign this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Leaders of both parties say they’re keyed into finding the voting method that each supporter likes best and making sure that voter’s ballot gets cast.

The situation is tricky for Republicans because President Donald Trump has raised suspicions about voting by mail. But GOP leaders say they are confident their backers will take advantage of the state’s absentee voting program.

“It’s up to the voter as to what they’re comfortable with. So if someone wants to vote by absentee, we’ll know and we’ll chase them down," said Andrew Iverson, the state director for Trump Victory, a joint operation of Trump's reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee.

Ben Wikler, the chairman of the state Democratic Party, said his team has been walking voters through the steps they need to take to vote by mail for Democratic nominee Joe Biden. They’re also helping voters put together plans if they prefer to vote in person, he said.

It is clear that the enthusiasm is behind President Trump in the weeks leading up to the election.

We must make sure that every vote is counted...

But we must make sure that they are counted ACCURATELY.

And that only eligible voters cast the ballots!