A victory for Wisconsin voters

A victory for voting rights in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Elections Commission has agreed to send applications for absentee ballots to nearly 3 million registered voters in the state. That means most people will receive a ballot application in the mail, expediting the process for voting remotely. More importantly, it means people won’t have to make the choice between risking their health and exercising their right to democracy if the pandemic is still raging in November. That way there won’t be a repeat of Wisconsin’s April election, when people had to stand in long lines at crowded polling places to cast a ballot. But for the first time, a majority voted absentee in that election. More than 62% of the votes cast in April were by absentee ballot. Clearly people are comfortable voting absentee. And with much larger turnout expected in November, the decision means even more people will be able to vote without risking their health. Interestingly, the vote by the Commission was unanimous, even though it is split evenly between democrats and republicans. It is good that Wisconsin, a laughing-stock after the April election, has made plans to make November’s vote go much more smoothly.