Wisconsin Elections Commission Pulls Guidance For Ballot Boxes

WISCONSIN — Guidance for absentee drop-off ballot boxes will no longer be available to local clerks after the Wisconsin Elections Commission voted unanimously on Monday, essentially burying use of the boxes before the April election.

The commission voted to retract guidance for boxes after following an order from the Wisconsin Supreme Court, commission chair Ann Jacobs said in a call.

The state supreme court ruled on Friday that a separate court's order to halt the use of drop boxes over the commission's guidance for local clerks was valid.

The supreme court hasn't made its final decision yet, but it signaled that it agreed with a Waukesha Circuit Court's ruling that the commission's guidance for ballot drop boxes broke state law.

See Also: End Of Drop Boxes In WI? High Court Sustains Ruling To Ban Boxes

The vote was held Wednesday morning right after the 2022 Spring Primary on Tuesday. The supreme court allowed the boxes to be used for the primary.

Wisconsin state law isn't clear on absentee ballot drop boxes, but hundreds were used for the 2020 U.S. Election amid the COVID-19 pandemic.