CEC Supports Proposed Defendant-Intervenors Whose Votes Were Threatened with Dilution by Wisconsin Officials
The Center for Election Confidence (CEC) supported proposed Defendant-Intervenors Billie L. Johnson and Kendall E. Post, in a suit in Dane County, Wisconsin, Circuit Court to protect their votes against government-ordered dilution. Following confirmed reports of the inclusion in the final election returns of twenty-three late-arriving ballots in Madison, Wisconsin, during the April 2026 primary election, the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) ordered a random draw-down to remove an equivalent number of randomly selected ballots.
Plaintiffs sued, arguing without compelling evidence that their ballots were included in the WEC-ordered draw-down, disenfranchising them. Following indications that the Wisconsin Department of Justice would not effectively defend the rights of Madison voters against unlawful vote dilution, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Post moved—with CEC’s support—to intervene on behalf of Defendants.
Despite denial of intervention without prejudice, proposed Defendant-Intervenors succeeded at argument in convincing the court to limit the case to an as-applied challenge.
Following renewed briefing in September 2026, CEC continued its support of Johnson and Post as Defendant-Intervenors. On October 13, 2026, the court issued a decision and order that stopped far short of the broad rule requested by Plaintiffs. Instead, the court held that an absentee voter who completed the ballot correctly and returned it to the municipal clerk in time to reach the polling place by 8:00 p.m. cannot have their ballot rejected if the ballot missed that deadline solely because of an election official’s act or omission. The court expressly limited its holding to the facts in Honig and devoted a section of its decision and order to discuss the very limits Johnson and Post requested as an alternative to dismissal.
The Center for Election Confidence (CEC) supported Defendant-Intervenors in accordance with its mission to safeguard the right of all eligible Americans, regardless of party affiliation, to take part in the electoral process and to have confidence in America’s election systems and election results.
Nicholas J. Boerke of Chalmers, Adams, Backer & Wallen LLC represented Defendant-Intervenors in this case.
Case Documents
Motion to Intervene (May 11, 2026)
Memorandum in Support of Motion to Intervene (May 11, 2026)
Declaration of Billie L. Johnson (May 11, 2026)
Declaration of Kendall E. Post (May 11, 2026)
Answer and Affirmative Defenses in Intervention (May 11, 2026)
Brief in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and in Support of Dismissal of Remaining Claim (Sept. 4, 2026)
Reply Brief in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Sept. 14, 2026).
Last Updated: Oct. 20, 2026