By Mitch Smith<\/a> and Michael Wines<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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MADISON, Wis. \u2014 It began with what seemed like a simple question: If a computer says voters have moved and are no longer eligible to vote at their old addresses, should the voters be struck from the rolls even if the computer has a history of mistakes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Wisconsin election officials first pondered the question a few months ago, it ruled unanimously against the computer and for preserving the voters\u2019 registrations, at least temporarily. But what once seemed a matter of electoral housekeeping has morphed into a political cage fight that has sprawled across four courts, split the state\u2019s Elections Commission and spurred intimations of voter suppression and voter fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, it is business as usual in Wisconsin, a partisan hothouse where elections can turn on onionskin margins and every ballot is potential booty in a political death struggle. Memories of President Trump\u2019s victory in Wisconsin in 2016 by fewer than 23,000 votes remain fresh. And as Americans gird for a raucous election year, the scuffle over who stays on Wisconsin\u2019s voting rolls may also portend similar struggles nationwide.<\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/voterpurgeproject.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/merlin_146440038_3087bfa3-2781-4ea4-bff3-3da06be082ef-jumbo.jpg\")