The Wisconsin Voter Alliance alleged that the state violates federal election law by failing to verify the identity and eligibility of overseas absentee voters.
The claim follows Wisconsin state Rep. Janel Brandtjen (R) finding three military ballots in her mailbox in 2022.
“I believe someone was trying to point out how easy it is to get military ballots in Wisconsin. Registration for military ballots is not required, so a fictitious name and birthdate is all that is required to obtain a military ballot online,” Brandtjen said at the time. “It demonstrates stolen valor from those who protect this nation.”
Wisconsin has allowed Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) applicants to obtain a ballot even if they do not present identification.
UOCAVA allows absentee voting by the U.S. military and Merchant Marine, their family members, and U.S. citizens outside the United States.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) further violated the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) by sending ballots without confirming the application was valid.
HAVA created minimum standards for the administration of federal elections by requiring identity verification and eligibility for those seeking to vote.
Such a violation “risks the dilution of military votes by allowing ineligible individuals to receive and vote an absentee overseas ballot,” according to a Wisconsin Voter Alliance statement.
Reporting from The Epoch Times:
In 2020, with the COVID pandemic at its height, many U.S. citizens returned home from abroad. Internal Revenue Service records show a decrease of at least 805,000 tax returns from overseas. Yet the 2020 election showed 7,482 more UOCAVA ballots in 2020 compared to 2016. “Progressive billionaires and their nonprofits are encouraging people that are abroad and home to vote, regardless of citizenship,” said attorney Erick Kaardal, who is handling the complaint, in a video conference call announcing the lawsuit on Monday. “We have to take care of two problems: noncitizens voting overseas, which we're dealing with here, and noncitizens voting within the United States. And one of the reasons we have to do that is because, for noncitizens voting overseas, the system is particularly vulnerable to this kind of abuse so we really have to hone in on this. "It is two aspects of the same problem, but we have to challenge it so people should be concerned about noncitizens voting within our borders. But we should also be concerned about noncitizens voting overseas, and that's what this administrative complaint's about and that's what we're intending to stop.”
