Free Republic

The litigation is the latest in a long line of complaints against a dysfunctional elections commission and its embattled administrator.A Marinette County judge on Friday slapped a temporary restraining order on the Wisconsin Elections Commission in a lawsuit alleging the election regulator puts Badger State voters in the untenable position of committing election fraud or opting not to cast an absentee ballot. The litigation is the latest in a long line of complaints against a dysfunctional elections commission and its embattled administrator, an agency that has had trouble following Wisconsin election law over its tumultuous existence. WEC’s latest controversial decision...

The Wisconsin Elections Commission has complied with court orders and will now tell the over 1,800 local election clerks they can accept absentee ballots that are missing parts of a witness address. The commission made the move after members voted 5-1 Thursday. The lone no vote against the new guidance was cast by Republican Commissioner Bob Spindell, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Previously, clerks were required to try to contact voters to correct absentee ballot envelopes that had “incomplete or insufficient” witness address information before accepting such ballots. Wisconsin law requires absentee ballots to be submitted with a witness’s...

Wisconsin judge fines state elections commission for failing to remove thousands from voter rolls A Wisconsin judge on Monday found the state Elections Commission, as well as three of its members, in contempt of court for their failure to remove thousands of people from Wisconsin voter rolls in compliance with an order he imposed in December, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Judge Paul Malloy said the three Democratic commission members who have fought his order, Ann Jacobs, Julie Glancey and Mark Thomsen, must each pay $250 a day for every day they fail to comply, while the commission itself must...

Dr. Robert Rupp, Associate Professor of History at West Virginia Wesleyan, also does some work as a consultant. Lately, his consulting work led him to advise a controversial new poll out on the U.S. Senate race in West Virginia, commissioned by Marshall University's School of Journalism and Mass Communications. That poll, released on Friday, depicted Democratic candidate Joe Manchin leading Republican John Raese by 10 points. The poll has been met with skepticism throughout West Virginia, since all other polls done by nationally-recognized pollsters show a much tighter race, either showing a tie or either Raese or Manchin leading by...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Suspended Broward Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant has been charged with 55 counts of violating election laws. Oliphant, already facing a Senate trial for her conduct in office, is accused of not opening polls on time and not keeping them open late enough during the September 2002 primary. The Florida Elections Commission levied the charges against Oliphant at its Feb. 19 meeting. If found guilty, Oliphant faces a fine of up to $55,000. She has 30 days to respond and can choose to appear in administrative court or in front of the Elections Commission. Oliphant, a...