The Election Law Program’s third war game was held in Neenah, Wisconsin on December 7, 2012. The goal of the war game was to troubleshoot state election statutes and educate judges about the unique nature of election litigation. Videos and supporting materials for the Wisconsin war game (scenario overview, briefs, etc.) are found here.
The hypothetical scenario developed for this war game explored the issue of ballot spoliation and the right to recast a spoiled ballot in the event of an accidental overvote in the 2014 Wisconsin gubernatorial election. The hypothetical focused on two Wisconsin statutes, one that allows for in-person voters who overvote to spoil their ballot and start afresh and another statute that appears to deny the same process to absentee voters. Of particular importance in the hypothetical case was a design flaw in the ballot which caused a high number of voters to overvote.
Neither the real world candidates named in this hypothetical (or their actual attorneys or other representatives) were consulted on the content of this hypothetical or are in any way responsible for it. The two attorneys arguing each side of the hypothetical case did so as part of the exercise and do not actually represent their hypothetical clients.
The Election Law Program would like to thank the Deer Creek Foundation for its generous support of this war game.