Politics & Government
Judge Rules To End Drop Boxes In Wisconsin Elections
A Waukesha judge sided with a right wing law firm and ruled that guidance sent in 2021 for absentee ballot boxes was against state law.
January 13, 2022
A Waukesha County judge ruled on Thursday that guidance sent last year from the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) to municipal clerks across the state about how to implement absentee ballot drop boxes is contrary to state law.
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The decision from Judge Michael Bohren is a win for Republicans and the right-wing legal firm, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), that brought the case. The use of drop boxes has become a common target for people who allege the election system is vulnerable to fraud.
Bohren granted a summary judgment against the WEC for WILL and its clients, two Waukesha County voters. He ruled that the guidance violates state law that dictates how and where absentee ballots should be received, saying the statutes require a municipal clerk or a member of their staff to be present. He also ruled that the guidance — sent as memorandums by the WEC in March and August of 2020 in the wake of a crush of absentee voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic during two major, high turnout elections — counted as a rule and therefore should have been promulgated through the state’s rulemaking process, which can take more than a year and requires approval from multiple areas of state government.
Find out what's happening in Across Wisconsinfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“I’m satisfied that there is no authority, no statutory authority to have drop boxes used for the collection of absentee ballots,” Bohren said.
As a result of Bohren’s Thursday order, the WEC will need to withdraw the guidance, remove it from its website and send a message to all of Wisconsin’s 1,850 municipal clerks stating that the guidance was unlawful within 14 days.
The order comes about a month before the state’s spring primary on Feb. 15, an issue that Scott Thompson, an attorney for a number of voting rights groups who intervened in the case on behalf of the WEC, said could violate Purcell v. Gonzalez, a federal court decision which requires decisions regarding voting to be made far enough in advance of an election so as to not confuse voters.
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