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Voters in Dane County will not see a new ballot design recommended by the state’s elections board when they go to the polls this November after County Clerk Scott McDonell opted to use an older design instead.

McDonell said he kept the style voters have seen in prior elections after an “honest difference of opinion” with staff in the state Government Accountability Board.

The state-recommended ballot design has come under fire from Republicans, who filed a lawsuit earlier this week seeking changes to it.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, alleged the GAB’s design favors Democrats because it does not include a line separating the office and the first candidate, and Democrats are listed first.

Unlike the recommended sample ballot, the Dane County ballots have shading that differentiates candidates from the offices they seek.

The GAB recommended Dane County use those ballots without lines and shading, but McDonell said that made the ballot a “wash-out” with too much white space, which could be confusing for voters.