MADISON, Wis. – A new statewide poll released today finds that an overwhelming majority of Wisconsin voters support electoral reforms that standardize how Wisconsin fixes or “cures” minor errors on voters’ absentee ballots. The poll, conducted by the Tarrance Group for the nonprofit Secure Democracy, found that nearly three-quarters of voters in Wisconsin support passing a law codifying the “ballot cure process.”
In the 2020 presidential election, nearly 1,500 Wisconsin votes were rejected due to minor errors on absentee ballots, such as a missing signature or address, and questions arose in general about how to ensure ballot curing and other election practices don’t undermine confidence in our system of voting. Wisconsin law currently allows election clerks to give voters the opportunity to correct errors on their ballots, but it does not require clerks to do so. A total of 30 states, meanwhile, had a uniform, statewide cure process in place for the 2020 election.
The poll found strong bipartisan support for ballot cure reform. In fact, 77% of Republicans, 74% of Democrats, and 69% of “independent” voters support passing a law that codifies the state’s ballot cure process. Election reforms are chief among Wisconsin voters’ concerns, as well as combating COVID-19, jobs and the economy. Almost four in five voters (79%) say they would be more likely to vote for a state legislator who passed a ballot curing law.
The poll was conducted Feb. 16-21, 2021 and includes an oversample of Republican voters.
“These poll results make it clear that Wisconsin voters are overwhelmingly in favor of modernizing their electoral process to ensure that all legitimate votes are treated equally,” said Sarah Walker, executive director of Secure Democracy. “Adopting common-sense, transparent measures like standardizing the ballot cure process will help restore confidence in our election process and ensure that every vote gets counted.”
“Our findings show that voters in Wisconsin care about election integrity, and that there is strong support across the political spectrum for addressing how ballot curing occurs,” said B.J. Martino, partner with the Tarrance Group. “Policymakers who are looking for a way to restore trust in our system of voting, and find common ground that is sometimes in short supply, will find a receptive audience for a ballot cure law among Wisconsin voters.”
