Democrats sue to expand access to voting

The Democratic National Committee and Democratic Party of Wisconsin filed suit Wednesday to expand access to voting in response to the spread of new coronavirus.

The lawsuit seeks to extend the electronic and by-mail registration to April 3 and suspend requirements that copies of photo ID and residency documents accompany absentee ballots during the outbreak.

They also want to extend the deadline of when ballots have to be received by local election officials so they can accept ballots postmarked on or before election day if they arrive within 10 days of the election.

The electronic and by-mail registration deadline for Wisconsinites to participate in the April 7 election was Wednesday.

“It’s more important than ever that we expand access to voting, and increasing these necessary measures will help protect both public health and Wisconsinites’ right to participate in our democracy,” Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez said in a statement.

Republican Party of Wisconsin Executive Director Mark Jefferson accused Democrats of “trying to hijack a national health crisis to rig an election in their favor.”

“If they cared about accessibility at the polls, they’d join us in urging clerks across Wisconsin to allow early voting immediately, not just those in their communities of support,” he said in a statement.

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