Racine officials, the Democratic National Committee and the Milwaukee-based advocacy group, Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, refuted those claims and defended the legality of the van, saying there was no express prohibition opposing it.
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The mobile voting van test is one of several on the Wisconsin battlefield that could change voting regulations in the upcoming presidential election.
The van was first used in the 2022 Racine municipal election. It was purchased with a grant Racine got from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, the nonprofit founded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. Republicans have criticized the subsidies, calling the cash “Zuckerbucks” that they say has been used to influence turnout in Democratic areas.
The van was only used to facilitate in-person early voting in the two weeks leading up to the election, Racine City Clerk Tara McMenamin said. He said the vehicle was useful because it was too bulky for his staff to set up their devices at remote polling places. .
The voting van used through the Racine City Clerk’s Office is shown at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center in Racine, Wis. , on July 26, 2022 (Ryan Patterson/The Journal Times AP, File).
He traveled around the city to meet with voters in their districts and collect early ballots.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, on behalf of Racine County Republican Party Chairman Ken Brown, filed a complaint the day after the August 1, 2022 issue with the Wisconsin Elections Commission, arguing that the van ran afoul of state law. They have only been sent to the city’s Democratic neighborhoods, as part of an illegal move to increase turnout.
McMenamin disputed the allegations, saying they demonstrated a false impression of the city’s Democratic congressional districts.
The electoral commission dismissed the complaint four days before the November election of that year, saying there was probably no explanation as to why the law had been broken. This prompted the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty to file a lawsuit.
Racine County Circuit Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz overturned the election commission’s dismissal of the complaint last Monday, saying the state’s election law does not allow the use of mobile polling sites.
“Nowhere can this Court locate or has obtained any authority authorizing the use of a van or vehicle as a vehicle of choice for mail-in voting,” the ruling wrote.
It rejected the defendants’ argument that the use of mobile voting sites is permitted because there is no express prohibition against them.
The ruling on your resolution does not address whether mobile voting sites are a smart concept or not. It is up to Parliament to decide, Gasiorkiewicz said.
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The Wisconsin Elections Commission and the state Department of Justice, which represented him in the lawsuit, did not respond to comments on whether the ruling would be appealed. McMenamin said the resolution is under review and the next steps will be clearer next week.
Early in-person absentee voting in Wisconsin for the spring municipal election begins Feb. 6. The number one presidential election will be held on April 2, and mail-in voting will be allowed two weeks earlier.
If appealed, the case could end up through the liberal-controlled Wisconsin State Supreme Court.
Lucas Vebber, deputy representative of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, welcomed the decision.
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“Wisconsin’s electorate wants to know that their elections are secure and that election management does not favor one political party over another,” Vebber said. “That’s precisely what this resolution does. “