Racine Sun

The city of Racine is fighting back against a complaint filed with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) over allegations that the city's use of a mobile voting van to collect mail ballots violated state election laws. The city used the van over the two weeks leading up to the Aug. 9 primary election. 

In the Aug. 29 response to the complaint filed by Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) filed earlier that month, Racine City Clerk Tara McMenamin wrote that all WILL arguments presented in the complaint, including that the van offers a partisan advantage, fail.

“All alternate absentee ballot sites were designated in accordance with the law,” McMenamin wrote referring to parking locations for the van. “These sites did not provide an advantage to any political party. The city did not allow contemporaneous voting both at alternate sites and at the office of

the municipal clerk. The designated sites were in effect for the appropriate amount of time, and

nothing in the relevant statutes prevent the use of a mobile van for an alternate absentee ballot site. ”

Anthony LoCoco, deputy counsel for WILL, told the Racine Sun that not only did the van’s locations give the Democrats a political advantage –the van was parked at 21 sites for 3 hours in primarily Democratic areas – but its use violated other state laws, including that an alternate voting site chosen be located in close proximity to the clerk’s office.

“The law is very clear on this,” LoCoco said. “Mail ballots can only be returned through the mail or dropped at the clerk’s office by the voter, or at a designated alternate site. That site must be located as close as possible to the clerk’s office.”

WILL alleges that state law calls for a designated alternate site to be a fixed location, not located in cars, vans or buses and that no in-person voting is permitted at the clerk’s office when the van is in use. Yet, primary voting occurred at the clerk’s office between July 26 and Aug. 6 during regular hours while the election van was at alternate sites, WILL said in a statement announcing the filing of the complaint. WILL is representing Racine resident Kenneth Brown in the complaint. 

“It’s a kooky way to obtain ballots,” LoCoco said.

WILL brought the case against the drop boxes for mail ballots used extensively in the 2020 General Elections, the case that led to July by the state Supreme Court that the drop boxes are unconstitutional.

LoCoco said that the mobile vans are a way for election officials to end run that ruling.

He added that WILL is prepared to fight Racine in the courts if WEC dismisses the complaint.

WEC did not respond to a request into the status of the complaint.