Wisconsin GOP primary voters could be disenfranchised due to confusion caused by new maps

Voters in a small Wisconsin town were not able to vote in the Republican primary for one of their local races due to an error on the ballot.

After new legislative maps were enacted in the state, the town of Summit, Wisconsin , moved from the 73rd Assembly District to the 74th Assembly District, but election officials failed to recognize the town moved and printed the wrong assembly race on the ballot. The mistake could cause nearly 700 voters to have their votes disenfranchised.

Douglas County clerk Kaci Jo Lundgren claimed responsibility for the error, telling CBS 58 Milwaukee that she “missed it,” and it “was [her] fault.” She said she is prepared for legal challenges.

A winner of the race has not yet been called as the Associated Press works to determine if the outcome of the race could be challenged.

Incumbent Chanz Green faced a challenge from former prison guard Scott Harbridge in Tuesday's primary for the Republican nomination in the 74th District. Green currently has 57% of the vote to Harbridge’s 43%. Meanwhile, in the 73rd District where Summit residents voted, Democrat Angela Stroud beat John Adams in the primary as the Republican ran uncontested.

While Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said the votes cast from Summit residents for statewide elections, including two ballot questions and a primary for Senate, will still count, she did not know how the situation would be resolved as there is no state law to address such an error.

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“I don't know what the remedies could look like,” Wolfe said. “I'm not aware of something happening quite like this, for any precedent in this situation.”

Last year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court declared the existing legislative maps in the state to be unconstitutional as they too heavily favored the GOP, and new legislative maps went into effect this year. Wisconsin’s previous maps were considered to be some of the most gerrymandered in the country.