The plan was simple. Democrats wanted voters to throw away their mailed-in ballots and start over after their top candidate quit the race. That was the plan.
It did not happen.
A Wisconsin judge on Wednesday slammed the door on a request to let voters change their minds. Dane County Circuit Judge David Conway ruled that state law explicitly forbids spoiling a ballot once it has been returned. The chaos started when former frontrunner Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out on July 17. According to reports, her campaign mismanaged funds and supposedly exaggerated fundraising totals by double-counting contributions. She called the reports a “distraction” and suspended her campaign.
Then came the twist. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who had already withdrawn on July 8, rejoined the race only a day afterward. Rodriguez’s name stayed on the ballot, along with Missy Hughes, who had dropped out in June. More than 117,000 absentee ballots had already been returned by Wednesday, according to the Washington Times. Democrats feared many were cast for Rodriguez. They sued the Wisconsin Elections Commission, seeking to allow those voters to cast new ones.
A Dane County judge today ❌️ rejected a Dem request for an #injunction allowing 📮 #voters to spoil their #absenteeballots so they can vote for someone else.
Judge David Conway found “the unambiguous language of the statute does not allow a voter to spoil an absentee ballot… pic.twitter.com/OXCOkxfo3J
— WisPolitics (State Affairs Pro Wisco) (@WisPolitics) July 29, 2026
The lawsuit argued that state law lets voters change their mind before Election Day. Attorney Eduardo Castro told the court, “Voters across Wisconsin will be disenfranchised” if they could not do that. Judge Conway disagreed. He wrote, “The unambiguous language of the statute does not allow a voter to spoil an absentee ballot after it is returned,” per the Washington Examiner. He said the guidance issued to roughly 2,000 local clerks was consistent with the law.
Wisconsin Democrats were not happy with the decision. Party Chairman Devin Remiker said the move to change rules was wrong and that they disagree with the ruling. He stated the party will “examine their options” going forward. Remiker claimed this broke a long-standing practice before Republicans tried to suppress absentee voting. He argued the decision to change those rules was a mistake.
Republicans saw it differently. Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming told the Associated Press, “Their primary is already chaotic enough.” He added that “Election laws should not be changed to rescue one party from the consequences of its own actions.” The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission had voted 4-2 on July 9 to tell clerks that voters cannot change a ballot once returned.
