GOP loses bid to suspend Wisconsin absentee ballot ruling (UPDATE)

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By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal appeals court declined on Wednesday a request by Republicans to suspend a ruling that would allow absentee ballots to be counted for six days after the election in this presidential battleground state.

The Republican National Committee, state Republican Party and GOP-controlled Legislature asked the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to keep its ruling on hold until the Wisconsin Supreme Court could discuss a separate question about whether the Legislature has standing to sue in the case.

Hours after the request was made, the court denied it with no comment.

Keeping the ruling on hold would be in keeping with federal precedent to “avoid sowing ‘voter confusion’ during an impending (or, here, ongoing) election,” attorneys for the Legislature wrote.

The filing came a day after the appeals court vacated its stay of a lower-court ruling that granted the six-day extension for counting ballots. The court decided that the Legislature, the Republican National Committee and state Republican Party had no legal standing to bring the case.

If it’s found the Legislature does have standing, then the state and national Republican parties would not have to argue why they do, the parties wrote in a court filing, noting that they would respond by the court’s Oct. 6 deadline to show why they believe they have standing and that their case should not be dismissed.

In Wisconsin, absentee ballots typically must be received by the time polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day. Democrats and their allies sued, arguing that more time was needed to count them this year because of the massive number of absentee ballots being cast because of the coronavirus pandemic. A federal court judge on Sept. 21 agreed and granted the extension, which the appeals court upheld.

Republicans across the country have fought attempts to make voting easier, particularly in battleground states such as Wisconsin. Democrats contend the move is meant to suppress the votes of people more likely to vote Democratic.

The Democratic National Committee, the state Democratic Party and allied groups including the League of Women Voters sued in Wisconsin to extend the absentee ballot deadline after the April presidential primary saw long lines, few polling places open, a shortage of workers and thousands of ballots mailed days after the election.

Wisconsin elections officials expect as many as 2 million people will cast absentee ballots to avoid the risk of catching the coronavirus at the polls. By Wednesday, more than 1.2 million absentee ballots had been requested and more than 350,000 had been returned. The last day to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 29, but officials say people who want to vote that way should not wait that long.

Republicans wanted the Wisconsin Supreme Court to answer the question of whether the Legislature can appeal an injunction blocking a state law. The Legislature said answering that question would provide clarity, especially for the U.S. Supreme Court, which ultimately is likely to decide the case.

Trump won Wisconsin by less than 1 percentage point — fewer than 23,000 votes — in 2016 and the state figures to be a key battleground again this year. Polls show Democrat Joe Biden with a slight lead but both sides expect a tight race, making these legal fights all the more important.