“Indefinitely Confined” Status Abuse – 287% Surge; 48,554 Without Photo ID on File (WI)

Wisconsin law (Wis. Stat. § 6.86(2)) permits voters who are permanently or indefinitely confined due to age, illness, infirmity, or disability to request absentee ballots without submitting photo identification. In 2020, Wisconsin experienced a 287% statewide surge in the number of voters claiming “indefinitely confined” status, reaching 220,404 ballots cast under that designation. This surge followed instructions issued by multiple Democrat-affiliated county clerks – including Scott McDonell (Dane County) and Claire Woodall-Vogg (Milwaukee) – advising the general public that any voter could use the indefinitely confined designation to bypass photo ID requirements. The Legislative Audit Bureau subsequently found that 48,554 voters who claimed indefinitely confined status had no photo ID on file with WEC. The Wisconsin Supreme Court subsequently ruled in Teigen v. WEC (2022) that drop boxes used in conjunction with this absentee ballot expansion were unlawful. ,