Sewell v. Racine Unified School District Board of Canvassers

Voters in Racine narrowly approved a school-funding referendum at the April 7, 2020 spring election. The measure’s passage was certified following a recount, performed by the Board of Canvassers (BOC) as required by Wisconsin law. Three Racine residents challenged the result of the recount in court, insisting the court should perform an additional recount in open court.

The school district successfully argued the court’s review of the recount did not require a re-do of the counting itself and prevailed at the circuit court and on appeal. The court of appeals confirmed opening the ballots in court was unnecessary as (1) the ballots had already been opened by the Board of Canvassers during its recount; and (2) the circuit court found that “the procedure utilized by the BOC in this recount was proper and provided an accurate result.” Sewell and the other petitioners have now appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The proper handling of ballots and chain of custody issues have wide-ranging impacts beyond this specific election. In addition to Wisconsin’s state laws regarding ballots and recounts, federal laws address preservation and handling of ballots that include federal races. Law Forward filed an amicus brief addressing the potential wide-ranging consequences of the ballot issues touched on in this case on August 18th, 2021.