MacIver News Minute: Rogue Judge Rewrites State Law on Election Night

The MacIver Report: Wisconsin This Week

On election day in Wisconsin, the polls are open from 7 am to 8 pm, and as long as you’re in line at 8 pm, you still get to vote. Wisconsin state law is very clear about this. That’s why what happened in whitewater on Tuesday night is so alarming. The DNC filed a last-minute lawsuit, because of long lines on campus there. A county judge then ordered that two polling sites stay open until 10:30, and as long as you got in line by 10:30, you could vote. That’s 2 and a half hours longer than what is permitted by state law. There is nothing in state statutes that allows a county judge to extend voting hours. In his order, the judge cited a statute explains what to do if a federal judge extends voting hours. He, himself, is not a federal judge. Democrats didn’t look that gift horse in the mouth. The call went out to get every potential voter on campus to the polls. It’s possible that this won them an extra assembly seat. Their candidate in that district only won by 840 votes. But even more important, if one rogue judge could get away with this now, there’s nothing to stop others from doing the same thing in future elections.