Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Wisconsin Town Over Paper Ballots
AFPI calls ruling a victory for local control, election integrity
Madison, WI — A Wisconsin judge has dismissed a lawsuit aimed at stopping a small town from using hand-counted paper ballots—a win for election integrity and the right of local communities to run their elections as they see fit.
The case, Webster v. Sheehy, challenged the Town of Thornapple’s 2023 decision to stop using electronic voting machines and return to traditional paper ballots. But on December 30, 2025, Judge Jacob Frost of the Dane County Circuit Court dismissed the lawsuit, stating: “I do not get to set aside [Wisconsin law] because Ms. Webster believes the choice to allow paper ballots was a poor choice by the Legislature.”
The America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) litigation team represented Thornapple in the case.
“This is a huge win for common sense,” said Nicholas Wanic, the AFPI attorney who argued the case. “State law clearly says towns like Thornapple can use paper ballots. That’s what they did, and the court affirmed both their decision and their right to make it.”
The Wisconsin Elections Commission had already reviewed the matter in 2025 and found no wrongdoing. Thornapple, population under 1,000, held two successful elections using hand-counted paper ballots in 2024.
“Hand-marked paper ballots are the gold standard for transparency, security, and public trust,” said Kenneth Blackwell, chair of Election Integrity at AFPI and former Ohio Secretary of State. “When voters can see the process with their own eyes—without black-box machines—they have more confidence in the results. This ruling is a victory for Thornapple and every town that wants to run honest, auditable elections.”
AFPI’s litigation team has been active in Wisconsin and across the country defending the use of paper ballots and the right of local officials to implement systems that increase transparency and voter confidence.
To read more about AFPI’s work to defend election integrity, click here.