Wisconsin Elections Commission: Small communities don't need permission to stop using voting machines
The Wisconsin Elections Commission says small communities don’t need the state’s permission to stop using electronic voting machines, siding with a northwestern Wisconsin town that switched to hand-counted, paper ballots last year.
The WEC decision means municipalities still must make at least one electronic voting machine available at polling places for voters with disabilities.
In a 5-1 decision, commissioners dismissed a complaint alleging the Rusk County town of Thornapple broke state law when it switched from voting tabulators to hand-counted paper ballots for April and August elections in 2024.
The town’s decision spurred two complaints with the elections commission and a federal lawsuit from the U.S Department of Justice, which is currently being appealed.
https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-elections-commission-voting-machines-paper-ballot-thornapple