Dane County Appeals, Voters Sue over 23 Rejected Madison Ballots
Two Madison voters are suing to restore the original count, and Dane County says 23 ballots should still be included because clerks received them before Election Day.
- On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, Dane County and two voters filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission, challenging the agency's order to reject 23 absentee ballots from Madison's April 7 election that arrived after polls closed.
- The six-member commission voted last week to order the Dane County Board of Canvass not to count the votes, asserting state law forbids counting ballots arriving after the 8 p.m. Election Day deadline.
- Law Forward President Jeff Mandell argued voters "did everything Wisconsin law asked of them" and were disenfranchised due to a clerical error by the Madison City Clerk's Office, not their own actions.
- Dane County legal counsel David Gault contended the ballots were not technically late because the clerk's office received them before Election Day, arguing the commission's strict interpretation is unconstitutional.
- Litigation must proceed quickly before the May 15 certification deadline for the April 7 election, a case highlighting renewed scrutiny over Madison's election administration following previous ballot-counting errors.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Law Forward sues elections commission over rejection of Madison absentee ballots
Chief Inspector Megan Williamson processes absentee ballots at the Hawthorne Library on Madison's East Side. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)The voting rights-focused firm Law Forward filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission Wednesday over the commission’s decision to throw out the spring election votes of 23 Madison voters whose absentee ballots were properly filled out and filed in time, yet were delivered by the city cler…
Wisconsin State Journal
La Crosse TribuneDane County appeals, voters sue over 23 rejected Madison ballots
Officials said the 23 ballots may not have reached their respective polling places until after the polls closed on Election Day, but they were all received by the clerk’s office the Monday before.
Dane County Board of Canvassers votes to appeal rejection of 23 absentee ballots
A split Dane County Board of Canvassers is preparing to appeal an order from the state Elections Commission barring the counting of 23 absentee ballots cast by Madison voters that the city clerk didn’t deliver to the polling site by the statutory deadline.
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