MADISON, Wis. (AP) 鈥� Wisconsin voters who have already returned their absentee ballots for the state’s primary are not allowed to void those and , a judge ruled Wednesday.
The ruling deals a blow to Democrats, who filed a lawsuit seeking to give voters a do-over because of a chaotic party primary in the governor鈥檚 race.
The ruling is almost certain to be appealed with in the state鈥檚 primary for governor. It creates another level of uncertainty in the waning days of a primary season that saw Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who had been seen as a Democratic frontrunner, on July 17. A day later, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who had bowed out on July 8,
Rodriguez鈥檚 name remains on the ballot, along with former state economic development director Missy Hughes, who dropped out in June.
More than 117,000 absentee ballots had been returned by Wednesday. Democrats were concerned that many of those might have been cast for Rodriquez.
The ruling from Dane County Circuit Judge David Conway prohibits voters who have already cast their ballot for a candidate who has dropped out of the race to cast a new one.
The attorney for voters who filed the lawsuit with support from the Wisconsin Democratic Party argued in a Tuesday hearing that state law allows voters who have submitted absentee ballots to change their mind before those ballots are counted on Election Day.
鈥淰oters across Wisconsin will be disenfranchised鈥� if not allowed to do that, attorney Eduardo Castro argued before Conway.
The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission had voted on July 9 to distribute guidance to clerks saying absentee voters cannot change their ballot after it has been returned. The judge on Wednesday said the commission was correct in issuing the guidance to the roughly 2,000 clerks who run elections at the local level.
The rarely used practice, known as ballot spoiling, was the subject of a 2022 . In that case, a Waukesha County judge agreed that the elections commission must rescind its guidance that allowed voters to cast a second ballot. But the state appeals court earlier this year vacated that ruling on technical grounds and did not rule on the merits.
The winner of the Democratic primary will advance to November鈥檚 general election, most likely against Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has only token opposition in his party鈥檚 primary. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is not seeking a third term.
Democrats hope to keep the governor鈥檚 office and flip both chambers of the Legislature to of state government for the first time since 2010.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
