Wisconsin GOP blocks absentee ballot address correction rule

By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican lawmakers have erased regulations allowing Wisconsin election clerks to fill in missing information on absentee ballot envelopes. The move marks another in a series of steps Republicans and conservative allies have taken to tighten voting procedures in the crucial swing state. Earlier this month, the conservative-controlled state Supreme Court ruled that absentee ballot box drops are illegal. Now Republicans are targeting an emergency rule the Wisconsin Elections Commission has adopted that allows local clerks to fill in missing information in absentee voting witness addresses without consulting the witness. The Legislature’s rules committee struck the regulations down Wednesday afternoon on a 6-4 vote.