Wisconsin Judge Rules Paper Absentee Ballots Violate Rights of Some Disabled Voters

A Dane County judge ruled Tuesday, August 4, that Wisconsin’s paper-based absentee-voting system denies some voters with disabilities an equal opportunity to vote privately and independently.

Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell’s ruling establishes liability in a lawsuit brought by Disability Rights Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and four voters. It does not immediately require Wisconsin election officials to provide electronic absentee ballots.

That leaves the central practical question unresolved: whether and how the state could create an accessible electronic option before the November 3, 2026, general election.

What the judge decided

Mitchell found that the current absentee process can prevent voters whose disabilities make it difficult or impossible to read or mark a paper ballot without assistance from voting privately and independently at home.

The decision does not apply to every voter with a disability. It addresses voters whose disabilities create those specific barriers, including voters who cannot independently read or mark a paper absentee ballot.

The plaintiffs have argued that an electronic ballot option would allow eligible voters to use assistive technology to complete an absentee ballot at home. The judge found that Wisconsin’s current paper-based system denies the affected voters an equal opportunity to vote absentee privately and independently.

But the ruling did not decide that electronic absentee ballots must be offered immediately, and it did not change the procedures for the August 11 partisan primary.

Why the remedy remains unsettled

The case now moves to the remedy phase. The parties still disagree about what relief would be legally appropriate and how it could be administered.

State attorneys have raised concerns about implementation, cost, administration and cybersecurity. Those are arguments in the dispute over the remedy; the August 4 ruling did not find that electronic absentee voting is categorically unsafe or impossible.

A hearing is scheduled for August 12. The parties may address the remedy, possible trial scheduling and the evidence needed to determine whether any accessible electronic process should be required.

Because the liability ruling did not itself order a new voting system, voters should not assume that electronic absentee voting is available now. A later court order, election-administration action or both would be needed for the procedure to change.

The case’s procedural history

The lawsuit was filed in 2024 by Disability Rights Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and four individual voters. The plaintiffs argued that Wisconsin’s restrictions on electronic absentee voting violated protections for voters with disabilities, including rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and state law.

In June 2024, a trial judge issued a temporary injunction requiring the Wisconsin Elections Commission to make electronic, accessible absentee ballots available to certain voters with print disabilities. The injunction allowed voters to receive and mark ballots electronically but did not allow them to return ballots electronically.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals later stayed the injunction and reversed it in 2025, concluding that the temporary order changed the existing system rather than preserving the status quo while the case proceeded. The appellate decision was a prior procedural ruling, not the August 4, 2026, liability decision.

What it means for upcoming elections

Wisconsin’s August 11, 2026, partisan primary remains governed by the existing paper absentee-ballot process unless a later order says otherwise. The regular deadline for voters to request an absentee ballot for that primary is 5 p.m. on August 6.

The next major election date is the November 3, 2026, general election. Regular absentee-ballot requests for that election must be received by municipal clerks by 5 p.m. on October 29.

The August 12 hearing could clarify the next steps, but the remedy may not be resolved before the general election. Further proceedings or an appeal could also affect whether and when any accessible electronic option becomes available.

What voters should watch

Voters who need an accessible voting accommodation should check current instructions with their municipal clerk or the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The court’s August 4 ruling alone does not create an immediate electronic absentee-ballot option, and procedures could change only if a later order or election-administration decision provides for it.

The immediate issue is not whether the court found a problem. It did. The next question is what remedy can give affected voters a private and independent way to cast absentee ballots while meeting the state’s election-administration requirements.

Sources

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