OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
An appeals court in Dane County has ruled that a complete address is not required to cast an absentee ballot in Wisconsin.
If an absentee witness’s address is incomplete, local election managers are not required to reject their ballots, according to Judge Ryan Nilsestuen, The Center Square noted.
“The definition [of an address] preferred by the WEC and the Legislature would establish a simple, bright-line rule, but it does not fit within the broader statutory context,” Nilsestuen wrote in his decision. “In fact, it directly conflicts with several other similar terms. Therefore, this definition is improper and, as used by the WEC, invalid.”
This decision follows last year’s ruling by a judge in Waukesha County that local election clerks were unable to tally ballots that lacked complete address information. Also forbidden by the Waukesha County verdict was the practice of clerks “curing” those ballots by inserting the missing data.
When asked about absentee ballots and witness addresses, Nilsestuen argued that the relevant state statute is ambiguous.
“The problem at hand could be resolved if the Legislature passed a bill to define ‘address.’ Instead, it is up to the judiciary to make sense of an undefined word used in a variety of different contexts in a convoluted and poorly written statute,” the judge added.
The case included arguments regarding the various ways in which “full address” is defined by local election administrators.
On Madison, for instance, you’ll need to provide the clerk with the street name, number, and either the city or ZIP code. In contrast, a complete address in Green Bay must include the following elements: the number of the street, the name of the street, the municipality, and the state or ZIP code, whichever is applicable.
Wisconsin State Rep. Janel Brandtjen (R-Menomonee Falls) expressed concern that the decision creates yet another potential election loophole.
“So, you can request a ballot, without an ID and sign it without an address. Nothing to see here?!” Brandtjen said on social media. “Even without an ID a ballot can be requested for the area where the voter “says” they reside. If this stands, then only a signature would be required. No trace of some voters, like fake military voters, indefinite confined, overseas voters.”
A photo ID is not required to cast an absentee ballot in Wisconsin, and under the state’s indefinitely confined voter law, a witness is not required to cast an absentee ballot either.
If someone were to appeal Nilsestuen’s decision, it would most likely wind up in front of the liberal majority on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court.
Republican legislators might attempt to draft a new statute that defines an address for the purpose of casting a ballot.
As the 2024 election nears, President Joe Biden’s team is already hitting the panic button.
A leading pollster took a deep dive into the results of a new survey regarding Biden’s job performance and approval one year out from the election, explaining that the data is much worse for him than what’s been reported in the so-called ‘mainstream’ media.
Revolver News, breaking down pollster Richard Baris’ assessment, described the results of a new survey this way:
Key demographic groups aren’t just mad at Joe Biden; they’re abandoning him in droves. When you consider his historically low polls, this isn’t a traditional “presidential slump” that can be brushed off and fixed with some stumping and handshaking. What we’re witnessing right now, and what the media won’t tell you, is that this is a “CODE RED” in the political world. We’re watching the complete collapse of a political figure, and the media is in a frenzy, trying to cover it up.
“The Suffolk/USAToday Poll is showing what we’re all seeing, which is NOT a normal weak showing 1-year out for an incumbent president seeking re-election,” Baris said noted on the X platform.
“Historically, he’s far below Barack Obama at this point (who won) and significantly lower than Donald Trump (who lost). H.W. Bush was higher, but his approval was falling RAPIDLY from far higher than Biden has ever been,” he added.
“It’s not just that these demographic groups are ‘abandoning’ Joe Biden. Donald Trump is gaining among key Democratic constituencies, Hispanic, Under 35. It’s the one poll NOT showing gains among Black voters. Clearly he is in the consensus,” Baris continued.
“I’d just also note that ‘enthusiasm’ and ‘voting likelihood’ are not the same thing. Higher turnout benefits Trump. People need to get used to understanding that now,” he wrote.
“Lastly, while they are just reshuffling the bottom of the deck, Nikki Haley has overtaken Ron DeSantis nationally. Almost identical to our latest results @BIGDATAPOLL,” he said.
The Suffolk/USAToday Poll is showing what we’re all seeing, which is NOT a normal weak showing 1-year out for an incumbent president seeking re-election.
Historically, he’s far below Barack Obama at this point (who won) and significantly lower than Donald Trump (who lost). H.W.…
— Rich Baris “The People’s Pundit” (@Peoples_Pundit) January 1, 2024
The Daily Mail also conducted a poll recently, Revolver News reported, “and it shows that voters see Biden as the ‘nothing’ candidate and President Trump as the ‘economy,’ ‘power,’ and ‘revenge’ candidate.”
“In the case of Donald Trump, the brand that has emerged is one that he has intentionally cultivated, and he has sought to become the candidate of vengeance,” the Daily Mail reported. “In the case of Biden, I think this is perhaps not great news. But then again it’s not terrible: It could have been old, it could have been demented.
“Instead, it’s nothing. It’s a blank slate. And they do say vanilla is the most popular flavor of ice cream,” the report continued.
