Rusk County town appealing federal ruling to restore voting machine access for people with disabilities

A northern Wisconsin town is appealing a federal court order requiring it to bring back voting machine access for people with disabilities. The appeal comes just days before the Nov. 5 election.

The Rusk County Town of Thornapple is appealing a preliminary injunction issued Oct. 4. Wisconsin Western District Chief U.S. Judge James Peterson ruled the town violated the federal Help America Vote Act by removing voting machine access and switching to hand-counted, paper ballots during primary elections in April and August.

The injunction, which remains in effect, requires the town to make at least one accessible voting machine available to people with disabilities in the Nov. 5 presidential election and beyond. The order stems from a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice last month, which is ongoing

Court documents submitted to the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals show the town is focusing its challenge of Peterson’s ruling on the definition of a “voter system” under the Help America Vote Act.

Attorney’s for the town filed a motion to dismiss the DOJ’s lawsuit, arguing it is exempt from the law because their process of hand-counting ballots doesn’t use any electronic equipment. Attorneys with the DOJ said the federal law argued paper ballot voting systems are mentioned several times in the law. Peterson denied Thornapple’s motion to dismiss Sept. 29.

The DOJ also sued the Rusk County Town of Lawrence for removing access to voting machines for people with disabilities, but town officials negotiated a settlement and agreed to make at least one machine available in the upcoming election.