End Of Ballot Boxes In April Election As WI Supreme Court Gives Lower Court OK To Ban

WISCONSIN — Absentee drop-off ballot boxes may see their end in Wisconsin after the state Supreme Court ruled Friday that it would allow a Waukesha Circuit Court to ban the boxes from the April election.

Judges were split 4-3, ultimately ruling that the boxes aren't permitted and that election commission guidance violated Wisconsin law, court records showed. It's not the final decision in the case, which records show is still open.

Two Wisconsin men introduced a challenge to the Wisconsin Elections Commission over the commission's drop box guidance for municipal clerks, court records showed. A Waukesha judge ruled on their side, effectively banning the use of drop boxes across the state.

The decision would make it harder for Wisconsinites to vote, and municipal clerks would be caught off guard, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wrote in a dissenting note.

"Procedures that were in effect for at least the last two years regarding drop boxes and absentee voting are now no longer in effect, but may be again in a few months," Bradley said. "The majority's order is seemingly oblivious to the practicalities of election administration."

Ballot boxes in Wisconsin have been under constant scrutiny since they became widely popular amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and misinformation surrounding the 2020 U.S. Election has brought even more attention.

The decision to allow a court to block use of the box would undermine the election process in Wisconsin, Bradley wrote.

"But the greatest harm of the majority's misstep may be the undermining of the election process itself. Indeed, the only parties not harmed by today's decision are those who would cast meritless doubt on our elections," Bradley added.

Justice Rebecca Dallet and Justice Karofsky joined Bradley in dissent, court records showed.

The state Supreme Court turned down a challenge on Feb. 4 from Rebecca Kleefish, former lieutenant governor and current governor candidate, who posed a legal challenge to the Wisconsin Elections Commission for similar reasons as the two men who filed a lawsuit.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals pushed back on the Waukesha judge's order to bury absentee ballot boxes, but the Supreme Court's ruling would override the appellate court's decision.

RELATED:

• WI Supreme Court Denies Kleefisch's Absentee Ballot Box Challenge
• Voting Drop Boxes Brought Back For WI's February Primary