Courts

Lawsuit against county clerk continues argument over college students voting for sheriff

Published

2 years ago

November 30, 2022

Disputes over the recent sheriff’s race in La Crosse County are now headed to the courtroom.

One county voter is suing the county clerk’s office over certain practices in the November election, including the ability of college students to vote in local races. The suit filed by Mary Jo Werner claims that letting students who live in the county part-time cast ballots for sheriff “diluted” Werner’s own vote.

The issue of student voting was brought up during the November partial recount of the sheriff’s election, which John Siegel won by 176 votes over Fritz Leinfelder.

A court hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled before Judge Elliott Levine this Friday.

Related Topics:civil lawsuit college voting featured La Crosse County clerk part-time residents sheriff's election

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.