Judge rules Wisconsin voters can’t recast ballots after governor race shake-up

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A Dane County Circuit judge ruled Wednesday that Wisconsin voters cannot request new ballots for the Democratic primary in the governor’s race following a string of candidates dropping out or reentering the race in the closing weeks.

Judge David Conway’s ruling ended a lawsuit by the state’s Democratic Party against the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) to allow absentee voters to submit new ballots because of the changing list of candidates.

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The ruling came after the WEC rolled out guidance on the ability for voters to receive new ballots. Conway wrote, “The unambiguous language of the statute does not allow a voter to spoil an absentee ballot after it is returned.”

The closely watched contest to succeed outgoing Gov. Tony Evers (D) at the top of the Democratic ticket in the Badger State has gone through several changes in its final weeks.

Former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes suspended her campaign in early July, which led the WEC to block the ability to revote if a candidate drops out.

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The list of candidates shrunk further when on July 17, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out of the race over “serious mismanagement and inaccuracies” in her finance filings. On July 18, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley reentered the race after dropping out July 8 with support from Evers.

On Thursday, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes also dropped out of the race, saying on social platform X it’s because “it’s become very clear who our nominee is going to be.”

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