MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Once voters mail or return their absentee ballots, clerks should no longer allow those voters to “spoil” their ballots and receive new ones, according to new guidance adopted Thursday, July 9, by the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC).
Previously, it was up to individual clerks to decide whether to grant a voter’s request to spoil a ballot, something state law allows absentee voters to do up to two times per election.
WEC Chair Don Millis said one issue was that some clerks were confused about whether to grant requests to spoil ballots that had already been returned, while others did not.
In 2022, candidates in a crowded Democratic primary for U.S. Senate dropped out one by one, clearing the field for Mandela Barnes. Voters who had already cast ballots for another candidate were left either knowing their vote would not count or trying to spoil their ballot and receive a new one…