Wisconsin High Court Upholds Ban on Racine’s Mobile Voting Van, Stays Early Voting Site Ruling

MADISON, Wis. (Civic Media) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a split decision regarding the use of mobile voting vans and the criteria for selecting early in-person absentee voting sites across the state.

The court unanimously denied Racine’s request to operate a mobile van for absentee voting, upholding a lower court ban. A Racine County judge ruled in January that state law does not authorize such mobile sites, and that the city’s van locations improperly advantaged Democratic voters.

However, the liberal-controlled court’s 4-3 majority granted a stay on the lower court’s broader ruling about how municipalities choose early voting sites. That ruling stated locations must have voter demographics mirroring the city clerk’s office to avoid favoring any political party.

The ruling allows cities and towns to continue using the same criteria for selecting early voting sites employed since 2016 for now. But it bans mobile van sites like Racine’s, which the city used in 2022 after receiving private grant funding.