Patrick Marley, and Jason Stein

Milwaukee

Madison — A federal appeals court on Monday kept in place a judge's ruling that would allow Milwaukee, Madison and other communities to kick off early voting next month.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago would also allow early voting to take place at multiple locations in municipalities, rather than just at clerks' offices.

The one-page ruling comes just days after officials in Madison and Milwaukee — the state's liberal centers — announced they planned to start hosting early voting in late September. That's a month earlier than would have been allowed under a state law that restricted early voting.

U.S. District Judge James Peterson invalidated parts of Wisconsin’s election laws last month, striking down the limits on early voting and prohibitions on allowing multiple sites for people to vote early. He found those and other laws violated people’s voting rights and that many of them were put in place by Republicans to help their party.

Peterson later agreed to temporarily suspend a part of his ruling requiring that the state reform how it deals with people who have difficulty obtaining photo ID to vote. But he left the rest of the ruling intact, including the portions that struck down the limits on early voting.

GOP Attorney General Brad Schimel appealed in an attempt to put the rest of the state's election laws back in place.

But a panel of the court on Monday declined to stay Peterson's ruling. The appeals judges didn't explain their rationale. The lawsuit was brought by One Wisconsin Institute and Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund.

Courts could take further action on the case between now and the Nov. 8 election that would change the voting rules, but Wisconsin officials have fewer legal options as the election nears.

The ruling was issued by three judges appointed by Republican presidents. Judges Frank Easterbrook and Michael Kanne were appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Judge Diane Sykes, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush.

The same panel of judges is hearing another case related to how Wisconsin conducts its elections.

In that case, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman in Milwaukee ruled last month that people who had difficulty getting IDs could sign statements at the polls that would allow them to vote. But the appeals panel blocked the ruling for now and signaled it was likely to ultimately overturn Adelman.

The recent decisions on early voting would allow communities to determine for themselves when and where to allow people to vote. The law that was struck down would have prevented local clerks from allowing early voting before Oct. 24 and would have prevented weekend voting.

Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl said early voting will start in her city on Sept. 26. Officials are hoping to make voting available to people around the city, including at public libraries and on the campuses of University of Wisconsin-Madison and Edgewood College, she said.

Neil Albrecht, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, last week said he expects early voting in Milwaukee will also start around late September.

The attorney general is reviewing Monday's decision, said Johnny Koremenos, a spokesman for Schimel.