November 7th, 2022
MILWAUKEE, WI — Following the lawsuit brought by the Thomas More Society against the Wisconsin Election Commission asking the Waukesha County Circuit Court to sequester all military absentee or mail-in ballots prior to the election, All Voting is Local Co-Director of States Shauntay Nelson issued the following statement:
“Veterans and servicemembers have put their lives on the line to defend our democracy and deserve to have their sacred right to vote protected. Many of our servicemembers and and their families rely on early and mail-in voting to participate in the democratic process. This stunt targets military personnel specifically, seeking to sow doubt in the elections process and, by extension, upend the free and fair elections we value. We are glad to see Wisconsin servicemembers, the men and women who are protecting our democracy, voting early and by mail, as is their right. ”
Background:
On November 4, 2022, the Thomas More Society brought a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Election Commission asking the Waukesha County Circuit Court to issue a temporary restraining order and temporary injunction ordering the state’s elections officials to sequester all military absentee or mail-in ballots prior to the election. This was in response to a Milwaukee election official who was fired last week for allegedly requesting military absentee ballots on behalf of voters who do not appear to exist. The ballots were sent to the home of a state representative who voiced support for overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election. This alleged scheme was caught quickly and action was taken immediately, demonstrating that the system of checks and balances works. Our election system has proven time and again to be safe and secure, and that was true in this attempt to undermine the publics’ faith in the electoral system and it should not be allowed to justify the disenfranchisement of thousands of military personnel in this election, nor be exploited to erect future barriers to voting for the men and women who serve our country.
All Voting is Local, a nonpartisan organization, exists to expose and dismantle threats to voter freedom in order to make voting safe, fair, and accessible, to build a democracy for us all. For more information about All Voting is Local, visit https://allvotingislocal.org and follow us on Twitter @votingislocal.