Carey v. WEC
No. 22-402
On July 22, 2022, we filed suit in federal court to make clear that federal law protects Wisconsin voters with disabilities voting in the 2022 November election.
Voters with disabilities enjoy the right to vote and to do so free from discrimination. To that end, voters with disabilities who need help to cast their ballots are expressly authorized under federal law to receive such assistance. Yet over the last month, these bedrock, civil-rights protections have come under threat. First, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin prohibited all Wisconsin voters from returning absentee ballots to a clerk’s office through a third party. Next, the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s administrator declared a similar prohibition on mailed absentee ballots.
These changes discriminate against, or even disenfranchise, the voters who filed this case. Because of their disabilities, these Wisconsinites need someone else’s assistance to vote absentee. Yet the State’s recent actions jeopardize their only method of doing so. Making it harder or impossible to vote is discrimination. Similarly alarming, for those Plaintiffs who are physically incapable of voting in person, these changes directly infringe upon their right to vote altogether.
Federal courts exist to vindicate federal rights. Voters in Wisconsin should have confidence in absentee ballot return, and a decision from the court can help stop the misinformation campaigns once and for all.
Case Timeline
July 22, 2022
Complaint filed.
August 19, 2022
The Department of Justice filed a “statement of interest” supporting our clients’ position in the lawsuit. In the statement, the United States federal government formally joined and expanded upon our arguments to Judge Peterson. Normally, I don’t think its helpful to pass along legal briefs, but this is an exception. This is the United States government confirming in a court filing that it believes we are right: voters with disabilities enjoy a federal right to ballot-return assistance. At the very least, just the headings of the subsections provide welcome confirmation that the federal government sees ballot-return assistance exactly as we do.
August 24, 2022
Judge Peterson signaled, in no uncertain terms, that he agrees with our motion that seeks a preliminary injunction and a declaration to confirm that voters with disabilities, like the Plaintiffs, are entitled to ballot-return assistance, regardless of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin’s decision in Teigen. Judge Peterson stated that he intends to issue an order by the end of next week granting the relief we seek, which should guarantee that voters with disabilities in Wisconsin may utilize ballot-return assistance for the November election.
Bedrock, federal, civil-rights protections guarantee that voters with disabilities can use ballot-return assistance to vote absentee. In light of the confusion in Wisconsin surrounding absentee ballots, these voters deserve clarification that they can rely on these federal protections when they vote. We are happy to see that Judge Peterson appears to agree.
August 31, 2022
Judge Peterson agreed with what we have been arguing all along: “Voters shouldn’t have to choose between exercising their federal rights and complying with state law. But that is the position that plaintiffs find themselves in, and that is in part because defendants have refused to provide needed clarification. If defendants cannot or will not give plaintiffs assurances that their right to vote will be protected, this court must do so.”
Historically in America, we unite to fight for our freedom to vote. From the Civil War to the suffragettes, from the civil rights movement to the disability rights movement and beyond, we have come together to expand and protect access to the ballot box. Today, the decision in Carey – injunction and declaration – continues that tradition. Law Forward will continue working to ensure all voters in Wisconsin can fully exercise their rights to participate in our democracy.
CASE CATEGORY
Voting Rights & Access
JURISDICTION
United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
CASE STAGE
Win