Thornapple, WI Take Note: HAVA Protects Paper Ballots Hand-Counted

Federal law, HAVA, has an EXPLICIT provision that defends Paper Ballot Systems.

In September, DTR PAC wrote about the little noticed but very consequential case in Thornapple, Wisconsin.

• Hand Counted Ballots: DOJ Sues Rural Thornapple, Wisconsin

Thornapple, Wisconsin chose to hand count their ballots in the April 2024 elections without any electronic voting machines. The U.S. Department of Justice took notice of this pivot away from electronic machines and brought an enforcement action against Thornapple to compel the town to have at least one electronic voting system in every polling location.

Wisconsin State Capitol — Jonathan Miske via Flickr

Bravado America, a grassroots organization tracking and explaining election and immigration cases, among other things, has also taken interest in this case. Bravado America recently made the good point that HAVA (Help America Vote Act — the federal statute the DOJ is relying on to argue Thornapple cannot conduct a pure hand count) was never intended to eliminate the option for a state to hand count, and, indeed, the law specifically included a provision to defend paper ballot systems:

“In short, when Congress passed HAVA, electronic machines were not in use across the United States.  Although the purpose of HAVA was clearly to move states toward electronic machines, it was not a ban on a paper ballot system, and someone or some group of persons in Congress felt strongly enough about protecting the paper ballot system that they included this explicit protection.”

As DTR PAC has noted before, this suit might seem small, but it could have serious implications for the hand-counting movement. The DOJ is attempting to nip the movement in the bud.  We will continue to update you, and, if you are interested in further legal analysis, you can read Bravado America’s explanation here: