Wisconsin’s Supreme Court ruled that absentee ballot drop boxes may be placed only in election offices and that no one other than the voter can return a ballot in person
may be placed only in election offices and that no one other than the voter can return a ballot in person, dealing a defeat to Democrats who said the decision would make it harder to vote in the battleground state.
Supporters argue drop boxes are a better option than mailing ballots because they go directly to the clerks and can’t be lost or delayed in transit. The popularity of absentee voting exploded during the pandemic in 2020, with more than 40 percent of all voters casting mail ballots, a record high. At least 500 drop boxes were set up in more than 430 communities for the election that year, including more than a dozen each in Madison and Milwaukee — the state’s two most heavily Democratic cities.
State law is silent on drop boxes. The court said the absence of a prohibition in state law does not mean that drop boxes are legal. Rick Esenberg, president of the conservative law firm that brought the case, said the ruling “provides substantial clarity on the legal status of absentee ballot drop boxes and ballot harvesting.” He said it also makes clear that state law, not guidance from the Elections Commission, is the final word on how elections are run.
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