BREAKING: Wisconsin judge sides with conservatives, orders elections commission to deactivate up to 234,000 voters who may have moved
Decision expected to be appealed
Decision expected to be appealed
The judge said Wisconsin law clearly required the elections commission to deactivate voters who didn't respond to the mailing within 30 days. The commission had no basis to set a different time frame, he said.
Judge Paul Malloy:
“I don’t want to see anybody deactivated but I don’t write the legislation. If you don’t like it, then I guess you have to go back to the Legislature. (The elections commission) didn’t do that."
The case is expected to go to the state Supreme Court
“I don’t want to see anybody deactivated but I don’t write the legislation. If you don’t like it, then I guess you have to go back to the Legislature. (The elections commission) didn’t do that."
The case is expected to go to the state Supreme Court
Karla Keckhaver, an assistant attorney general defending the commission, argued that not putting the ruling on hold pending appeal would create “irreparable harm.”
“This would create chaos to do this now," she said, referring to upcoming elections in February.
“This would create chaos to do this now," she said, referring to upcoming elections in February.
But WILL leader RIck Esenberg says there's no chaos because any affected voter could register again before an election or at the polls on election day
He also says the number of affected voters will be small
He also says the number of affected voters will be small
For the legal eagles out here, the judge granted a writ of mandamus to WILL, ordering the elections commission to deactivate voters who didn't respond to the mailing
That's a higher legal standard than for a temporary injunction, which WILL was also seeking
That's a higher legal standard than for a temporary injunction, which WILL was also seeking
