The Wisconsin Democrats (WisDems) are having a rough week. The Democratic primary debate didn't go well for most of the candidates, and Francesca Hong's rambling and revealing answer on defunding the police and "public safety" is going viral. The WisDems were really hoping that Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who they begged to get back into the race after he dropped out, would derail Hong's chances. That's not happening. Polls show Hong up by 30 points over Crowley and Mandela Barnes.

And Crowley was their Plan B. They initially hung their hopes on current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez (Crowley even endorsed her when he dropped out). Rodriguez's campaign then imploded, and the WisDems were in full-blown panic mode.

After getting Crowley back into the race, the WisDems went to the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) asking them to rescind a rule that prohibited mail-in voters from requesting new ballots. The WisDems argued that because there were so many changes to candidates, voters may have cast ballots for candidates who were no longer in the race. When the WEC denied their very undemocratic do-over, the WisDems filed a lawsuit.

A judge just dismissed that suit.

Here's more:

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Wisconsin voters returned more than 117,000 absentee ballots before one of the front-runners in the governor’s race dropped out and another contender jumped back in — but a judge ruled Wednesday that those voters are not allowed to request new ones.

The ruling shut down a lawsuit filed by the state’s Democratic Party against the Wisconsin Elections Commission to allow the absentee voters to submit new ballots because of the race’s changing nature.

“The unambiguous language of the statute does not allow a voter to spoil an absentee ballot after it is returned,” Dane County Circuit Judge David Conway wrote in his ruling, referencing the guidance the state elections commission rolled out earlier this month on voters’ ability to receive new ballots.

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Devin Remiker denounced Conway’s decision and tied the commission’s decision to larger efforts to “suppress” mail-in voting.

As the article points out, WisDems Chair Devin Remiker said this is an effort to "suppress" mail-in voting. No, it's not. It's upholding the state's law, and even a Dane County Judge couldn't get around this reality. If you don't know Wisconsin, Dane County is home to Madison, and it's as deep blue as counties in California and New York. If a judge from Dane County says the law is clear on this, you're cooked.

There are inherent risks to mail-in voting, and casting your ballot weeks or months before the primary means your candidate may not be left standing on election day. 

This was the correct ruling, and it means that Francesca Hong is the Democratic nominee. WisDems did not want that to happen, and it sets the stage for a Republican reclamation of the governor's mansion.