Current:Home > ScamsNew legislative maps lead to ballot error in northern Wisconsin Assembly primary -WealthX
New legislative maps lead to ballot error in northern Wisconsin Assembly primary
View
Date:2025-04-13 14:31:33
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — New legislative maps in Wisconsin have apparently led to an administrative error that could disenfranchise scores of voters in a Republican state Assembly primary race.
The new maps moved Summit, a town of about 1,000 people in Douglas County in far northern Wisconsin, out of the 73rd Assembly District and into the 74th District. Incumbent Chanz Green and former prison guard Scott Harbridge squared off in Tuesday’s primary for the GOP nomination in the 74th District, while Democrats Angela Stroud and John Adams faced each other in a primary in the 73rd.
Voters in Summit received ballots for the primary in the 73rd rather than the primary in the 74th, county clerk Kaci Jo Lundgren announced in a news release early Tuesday afternoon. The mistake means votes in the 73rd primary cast in Summit likely won’t count under state law, Lundgren said. What’s more, no one in Summit could vote for Green or Harbridge in the 74th.
Lundgren, who oversees elections in Douglas County, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that she reviewed the new legislative boundaries many times but somehow missed that Summit is now in the 74th District.
“It was human error,” she said. “It was a mistake. I made that mistake. ... It was an oversight in one municipality.”
Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon that state law doesn’t address such a situation.
“I don’t know what the remedies could look like,” Wolfe said. “I’m not aware of something happening quite like this, for any precedent in this situation.”
Wolfe said Summit voters who cast ballots in the 73rd primary didn’t commit fraud since they were given official ballots. Votes cast in other races on the Summit ballot, including ballot questions on whether the state should adopt two constitutional amendments restricting the governor’s authority to spend federal aid, will still count, she said.
The liberal-leaning state Supreme Court threw out Republican-drawn legislative boundaries in 2023. GOP lawmakers in February adopted new maps that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers drew rather than allowing the liberal court to craft districts that might be even worse for them. Tuesday’s primary marks the first election with the new boundaries in play.
Confusion surrounding those new maps appeared to be limited to Summit. The state elections commission hadn’t heard of similar oversights anywhere else in the state, Wolfe said.
Matt Fisher, a spokesperson for the state Republican Party, had no immediate comment. No one immediately responded to an email the AP sent to Green’s campaign.
Harbridge told The AP in a telephone interview that the mistake shouldn’t matter unless the race between him and Green is close. He has already consulted with some attorneys, but he lacks the money to contest the results in court, he said.
“I’m not happy at all about it,” he said of the mistake. “I don’t understand how this could happen.”
veryGood! (85)
Related
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- U.S. ambassador visits Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russian prison
- The video game platform Roblox says it's back online after outage
- Brown bear that killed Italian runner is captured, her 3 cubs freed
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- How the 'Stop the Steal' movement outwitted Facebook ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection
- Transcript: Rep. Mike Turner on Face the Nation, April 16, 2023
- 3 Former U.S. Intelligence Operatives Admit Hacking For United Arab Emirates
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- This Alaskan town is finally getting high-speed internet, thanks to the pandemic
Ranking
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Brown bear that killed Italian runner is captured, her 3 cubs freed
- Tech workers recount the cost of speaking out, as tensions rise inside companies
- The U.S. says a Wall Street Journal reporter is wrongfully detained in Russia. What does that mean?
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Colombia police director removed who spoke about using exorcisms to catch fugitives
- Why the Salesforce CEO wants to redefine capitalism by pushing for social change
- See Ryan Seacrest Crash Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ Oscars 2023 Date Night
Recommendation
New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
Colombia police director removed who spoke about using exorcisms to catch fugitives
Hunting sunken treasure from a legendary shipwreck
Gigi Hadid and Leonardo DiCaprio Reunite at 2023 Pre-Oscars Party
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
Google Is Appealing A $5 Billion Antitrust Fine In The EU
Mary Quant, miniskirt pioneer and queen of Swinging '60s, dies at age 93
See Angela Bassett and More Black Panther Stars Marvelously Take Over the 2023 Oscars