Vos and Fitzgerald filed the suit last week, arguing the new ballot designed by the Government Accountability Board — which doesn’t include shading to distinguish between offices or lines separating the offices from the first candidate listed — will cause confusion among voters and favors Democrats since they’ll be listed first in each race this fall.
But a filing from the state Department of Justice countered the suit amounts to a request for “extraordinary judicial intervention” in the upcoming election — while noting only 16 counties are using the exact GAB template for the fall ballot.
I understand and agree with why Vos and Fitzgerald filed the suit. The GAB’s actions smell to high heaven and their actions here certainly seem like they are overstepping their authority. But I think the court and the DOJ is right. The GAB is a creation of the legislature and its actions can be controlled by the legislature if they choose to do so. This infraction doesn’t rise to the level that requires the judicial branch to reach in.
Let us hope that Vos and Fitz remember this moment during the next session of the legislature and take serious action to reform or replace the GAB. The rogue GAB needs to be addressed.
When I first heard about this, I was prepared to inroduce a measure to restore the old ballot in Village of Kewaskum.
When I looked at the new ballot and I don’t see it as big of a deal as its being made out to be.
I’m confident the people in the Village of Kewaskum are smart enough to deal with either ballot.