Suspicious Numbers of “Indefinitely Confined” Voters Found in Wisconsin

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The Voter Integrity Project, led by data analyst Matt Braynard, has found a remarkably large number of requests in Wisconsin this year for “indefinitely confined” status.

In Wisconsin, one type of absentee ballot does not require ID — “indefinitely confined.”

Shown below are the number of absentee ballots this election and in recent years.

Indefinitely Confined voters numbers

Year of Initial Request  Number of Voters
2010 1216
2011 881
2012 3298
2013 626
2014 3112
2015 972
2016 8989
2017 2547
2018 14178
2019 4890
2020 169282

What are indefinitely confined voters?

These are voters who declare themselves “indefinitely confined” due to age, illness, or disability for an unspecified period.

Since these voters can acquire absentee ballots without having to show photo identification, it is an easy way to bypass Wisconsin state law requiring a photo ID to cast a ballot.

In 2019, there were 4,890 Wisconsin voters who applied and were given indefinitely confined status. This year, there were 169,282 voters who reported themselves indefinitely confined.

According to Braynard, this status is not created by the COVID-19 situation.

SOURCES