Rusk County Town Loses Appeal Over Voting Machine Availability

THORNAPPLE, Wis (WBZH / WHSM / WCFW) – A Rusk County town lost its appeal of a prior federal court decision requiring it to provide access to an electronic voting machine.

The town of Thornapple was hit with a preliminary injunction last fall after failing to provide accessible voting machines. The injunction was the result of a United States Department of Justice lawsuit claiming that the town violated the Help America Vote Act by removing the machines.

Voters from the town were only able to use paper ballots in the April and August elections last year. The Help America Vote Act requires every voting system to be accessible for people with disabilities. Voting machines offer those residents the ability to hear the options on the ballot and use the device to easily mark their votes.

The Rusk County town appealed the preliminary injunction. They argued the town was exempt from the law because they did not use any electronic equipment to hand count the ballots, so it did not qualify as a voting system.

On Monday, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower-court ruling requiring that the town utilize the voting machines. Their decision found that people with disabilities would not have the ability to vote privately if they only had access to the paper ballot.

The decision also reaffirms that every polling place in Wisconsin must offer an electronic voting machine for residents with disabilities. Attorneys for the Town of Thornapple say they’re weighing their current options, which could include appealing this decision with the Unites States Supreme Court.