No. of Recommendations: 4
Wisconsin appeals court. Absentee ballots.
Wisconsin requires absentee ballots to have a witness, and that witness needs to include their address as part of their witness statement. But the law does not specify what constitutes an address. Republicans in the state have tried to invalidate ballots that contain incomplete address for the witness (examples include missing zip codes or missing city, particularly common when spouses act as witnesses for each other - they share an address and a complete address can easily be determined if portions are omitted). The lower court decided that as long as the address was sufficient to identify a location where the witness could be contacted, it was acceptable. The appeals court has generally affirmed that decision.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/absent...US District Court, Alabama. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Section 2 of the VRA contains the enforcement provisions. One recent attack on the VRA is to claim that Section 2 does not contain a "private right of action", which is the ability of individuals or groups of individuals to file suit to enforce the VRA. That would mean that only the Department of Justice could enforce the VRA. The 8th Circuit court has ruled that there is no private right of action, but that only applies to that circuit. 3 other Circuits have ruled that there is a private right of action.
Today's ruling upholds this private right in Alabama, and will allow the current case regarding redistricting in Alabama to continue.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/federa... 