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Aug. 31 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled Wednesday that Wisconsin voters with disabilities have the right to get the help of others to either mail ballots or deliver them to a clerk. Judge James Petersen's ruling is effective regardless of other decisions by state lawmakers or state courts in Wisconsin.
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"Voters shouldn't have to choose between exercising their federal rights and complying with state law," Peterson said. "But that is the position that plaintiffs find themselves in, and that is in part because defendants have refused to provide needed clarification."
The case was brought by four Wisconsin voters with disabilities.
According to their lawsuit, they sought relief "against administration of elections in any manner that does not permit disabled voters to receive third-party assistance in returning properly marked absentee ballots."
The suit was filed in response to a Wisconsin State Supreme Court decision in July that banned unstaffed absentee voter drop boxes and said voters must mail or deliver their absentee ballots in person.
"Today's ruling is the right thing to do to ensure the ballot box is as equally accessible as possible for every Wisconsin voter," A Better Wisconsin Together executive director Chris Walloch said in a statement. "Although, it's disappointing that disability rights and voting rights are even up for debate in 2022."
Judge Petersen also ordered Wisconsin's Elections Commission to inform the state's municipal clerks before Sept. 9 that the federal Voting Rights Act allows voters with disabilities to get help from other people as long as those people aren't the voter's employer or from the voter's union.
The federal government supported the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, asserting that federal laws protect their right to vote.
In a legal filing supporting the Wisconsin plaintiffs, the federal government said, "The Court must act now before the disenfranchisement of disabled Wisconsin voters -- like Plaintiffs -- becomes a fait accompli."
