Wisconsin Supreme Court Throws Out Suit Challenging Absentee Voting
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last Friday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court tossed out a suit seeking to limit absentee voting in the state. Conservative activist Jere Fabick sued the Wisconsin Elections Commission in March in an effort to stop local election officials from filling out missing information on absentee ballot envelopes, prohibit community ballot collection and ban drop boxes. Fabick directly petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court instead of filing his action with the bipartisan commission, which is the normal procedure for commencing election litigation.
The majority denied Fabick’s petition on procedural grounds, writing that it “does not present a clear opportunity to address the merits of the questions presented” because the issues Fabick raised were not “cleanly presented.” The majority stated that the petition raised important questions, but emphasized that “[w]hile this court must not shrink back from deciding challenging or politically fraught questions properly before us, neither should we be eager to insert ourselves at the expense of time-tested judicial norms.”