Wisconsin legalized ballot drop boxes, but some local officials are fighting them

Months after the Wisconsin Supreme Court legalized them, ballot drop boxes remain a source of deep division among public officials in communities across the battleground state.

While city officials in Madison and Milwaukee embraced them early for the August primary, several communities in Waukesha and Milwaukee counties have opted out of using drop boxes for November’s election, to some voters’ dismay. Some clerks in Dodge County decided not to use drop boxes after the county sheriff warned against them, saying he struggled with “the appearance of the potential for fraud even if no fraud occurs.”

Then, this past week, the issue boiled over in Wausau, after Mayor Doug Diny unilaterally decided to remove the city’s drop box, reportedly ignoring warnings from the city attorney. The city clerk has referred the matter to law enforcement.

The disputes point to lingering distrust of drop boxes as a ballot return option after the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court legalized them this year. The court’s decision overturned a ban issued by the court in 2022 when it had a conservative majority. But it left some unresolved questions over who at the local level can make the decision to authorize — or ban — drop box use.




https://wisconsinwatch.org/2024/10/wisconsin-ballot-drop-box-election-absentee-wausau-madison-milwaukee-supreme-court/