After a disastrous week for Wisconsin Democrats, they have submitted a formal request to the Wisconsin Election Commission to prevent the ban from voters to change their ballots once they’ve been mailed in.
After candidates have dropped out and re-entered, Wisconsin Democrats are requesting the WEC to rescind the ban on voters from “spoiling” their ballots once they’ve been sent. A voter “spoiling” a ballot would render the initial ballot invalid, and give the voter an updated ballot. (RELATED: Eric Toney Demands Investigation Into Rodriguez Campaign Finances)
More than 80,000 absentee ballots have already been returned ahead of the August 11 primary. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her campaign after discovering that her financial reports overstated how much money her campaign actually had, while Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley reentered the race only days after suspending his campaign and endorsing Rodriguez.
Crowley returned with Gov. Tony Evers’ support, leaving voters to sort through a field that still includes Mandela Barnes, Francesca Hong, Kelda Roys and Joel Brennan. The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 4-2 to prohibit voters who have already returned an absentee ballot from receiving a replacement, and Democrats are now asking the commission to reverse that guidance.
That the Democratic field had struggled to consolidate support while Republicans unified behind the U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany. Hong’s past support for police abolition and Rodriguez’s comments about conducting internal budget negotiations “behind a curtain,” have raised questions about which candidate best fits the party.
Wisconsin Democrats are trying to throw their weight behind Crowley, while convincing the others to do the same. Democrats are trying to convince candidates like Mandela Barnes, Kelda Roys, and Joel Brenann to drop out and endorse Crowley. They feel that Crowley can win the primary versus socialist Francesca Hong, who has been picking up momentum with the chaos. (RELATED: Milwaukee Residents Face Rising Costs, School Failure and Police Staffing Crisis)
Tiffany has been able to move toward the general election with a unified Republican base and a straightforward message. He has campaigned on controlling property taxes, challenging utility-rate increases and auditing state agencies.
