Wisconsin Elections Commission adopted guidance barring voters from voiding returned absentee ballots

On July 9, 2026, the Wisconsin Elections Commission adopted guidance for local clerks ruling that voters who have already returned an absentee ballot cannot void it and request a replacement — even if their chosen candidate has since dropped out of the race and weeks remain before Election Day. The guidance reversed the commission's prior legal position, which had supported broader ballot-spoiling rights under state law, and was adopted after clerks had already mailed ballots for the August 11 primary and after multiple candidates in the crowded Democratic gubernatorial race had dropped their bids. Critics noted that the timing — mid-primary, after early ballots were already cast — was unusual, since courts are typically skeptical of last-minute rule changes close to elections.

The July 9 guidance effectively restored a restrictive 2022 court ruling that had banned voters from replacing returned absentee ballots, reversing years of WEC litigation arguing in favor of broader replacement rights. The commission had previously litigated, on behalf of Wisconsin voters, that people should be allowed to replace returned absentee ballots as long as they met statutory deadlines. Under the new guidance, voters whose candidates have withdrawn — including all who voted for gubernatorial candidates who have since dropped out — cannot cast a new ballot.

Updates

2026-07-23 — Three Dane County voters filed suit challenging the guidance as unconstitutional [1]

Three Democratic residents of Dane County who voted for a gubernatorial candidate who has since dropped out filed suit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission, arguing the July 9 guidance unconstitutionally disenfranchises voters whose circumstances changed and that allowing their non-counted votes to stand would deny them meaningful participation in the August 11 primary.

2026-07-24 — League of Women Voters and Law Forward filed second lawsuit challenging the guidance [2]

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and the liberal law firm Law Forward filed a separate suit challenging the guidance and related WEC restrictions on absentee voters, arguing the rules barred voters from participating in-person when their mail ballot would not arrive before polls closed on Election Day.