Judge orders Wisconsin elections officials to move quickly on changing absentee ballot rules

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin judge has ordered the Wisconsin Elections Commission to implement his ruling allowing election clerks to accept absentee ballots that have partial witness addresses, a decision that is expected to expand the number of ballots that will be counted in battleground Wisconsin. Each of the last two presidential elections in Wisconsin was decided by fewer than 23,000 votes. Ever since Trump’s defeat in Wisconsin in 2020, Republicans have been fighting in court to tighten the rules to limit how many absentee ballots can be accepted. The judge’s order Tuesday is expected to be appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.