Court: Wisconsin’s Unauthorized Use of Federal Voter Registration Form Violates State Law...

by Shawn Fleetwood at the Federalist

The Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) illegally used a form that was not authorized in accordance with state law to register new voters, a state court ruled on Tuesday.

Writing for the Waukesha County Circuit Court, Judge Michael Maxwell ruled that the WEC did not properly authorize the use of the National Mail Voter Registration Form (“National Form”) to register new voters by mail. The form is made available by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an independent federal agency that provides resources regarding the administration of elections.

“WEC has failed in this most basic duty by allowing the National Form to be used in Wisconsin where WEC has never actually [prescribed] its use,” Maxwell wrote.

In its lawsuit filed on behalf of a Wisconsin resident last year, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) alleged the WEC’s use of the National Form was illegal because the agency failed to engage in proper “rulemaking” before authorizing its use. The legal group also claimed the form “adds extra criteria not authorized by statute or rule.”

The WEC tried to claim it had properly authorized the form’s use,…