On Tuesday, a federal court of appeals upheld a six-day extension for officials in Wisconsin to county ballots for the presidential election. The ruling means ballots that are postmarked on or before Nov 3. can be counted up until Nov. 9. The decision is considered to be a win for Democrats, although Republicans are likely to appeal the decision to the United States Supreme Court.
Two days ago the appellate court paused the lower court's decision to uphold the extension. Eventually, the three judge panel – all appointed by Republican presidents – that the ruling was good.
According to the Associated Press, the ruling doesn't change anything for the Wisconsin Republican Party or the Republican National Committee.
“Neither group contends that the new deadlines established by the district court would violate the constitutional rights of any of their members,” the appeals court ruling stated. “The political organizations themselves do not suffer any injury caused by the judgment.”
The extension was granted after the Democratic National Committee, the Wisconsin Democratic Party and the League of Women Voters sued. They made the argument that long lines, fewer polling locations and election workers in combination with thousands of ballots being mailed back made it difficult for people to vote. Republicans, however, argued that there's been enough time for people to request ballots, fill them out and return them before Election Day.
Wisconsin State election officials anticipate roughly two million people voting by mail this November. As of this writing, roughly 1.2 million absentee ballots had been requested. More than 308,000 have been returned.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member