The Wisconsin Supreme Court has reversed its previous decision on restricting most ballot drop boxes, allowing their use once again across the state. This 4-3 ruling overturns a decision made less than two years ago that had banned the use of most drop boxes. The court’s decision acknowledges that municipal clerks may lawfully utilize secure drop boxes at their discretion, but it does not mandate their use.
This ruling is expected to have significant implications for the 2024 presidential election in Wisconsin, a crucial battleground state. During the 2020 election, Democrats encouraged the use of drop boxes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are likely to do so again. Conversely, many Republicans have falsely claimed that drop boxes are linked to widespread voter fraud. However, some Republicans in Wisconsin are now encouraging their voters to use drop boxes in anticipation of the ruling.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission had approved funding for the expanded use of drop boxes during the pandemic in 2020. However, in July 2022, the state Supreme Court ruled that absentee ballots could only be dropped off at election clerks’ offices, asserting that only the GOP-controlled state Legislature had the authority to enact laws regarding drop boxes.
After liberals regained the court majority in 2023, the Democratic group Priorities USA filed a suit to overturn the 2022 ruling. The group argued that Wisconsin law is silent on the issue of drop boxes, raising questions about whether voters can return absentee ballots to locations other than a clerk’s office. The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s four liberal justices agreed to resolve whether the 2022 ruling was incorrectly decided.
The ruling has sparked reactions from both sides. Democrats and progressives in Wisconsin filed numerous briefs urging the court to overturn the 2022 decision, while conservative groups and the Wisconsin Republican Party supported upholding the current rules. The decision may accelerate Republican efforts to embrace drop boxes in Wisconsin, despite their previous criticism of the method.
Former President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly criticized the use of drop boxes, falsely claiming they facilitated cheating in the 2020 election. However, there is no evidence to support these claims. In recent months, there has been a shift in attitudes within the GOP towards early and alternative voting methods, including the use of drop boxes.
The ruling was not entirely unexpected, as the liberal justices had signaled during oral arguments in May that they believed the court had ruled incorrectly on the issue 22 months earlier. They dismissed false claims by conservatives that drop boxes were a source of fraud in prior elections.
Conservatives criticized the court for revisiting the case so soon after it had been decided, arguing that the doctrine of “stare decisis” should be respected. However, the liberal justices rejected these claims, pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade as a precedent for overturning previous rulings.
Justice Jill Karofsky, one of the liberal justices, referenced the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion on Roe v. Wade, questioning what the court should do if it believed the 2022 ruling was “egregiously wrong from the start.” Karofsky was among the three liberal justices who dissented in the original ruling, and newly-elected Justice Janet Protasiewicz joined them in the majority decision.
The ruling allows for the use of drop boxes in any location, with Justice Ann Walsh Bradley writing for the majority that placing a ballot in a drop box set up by a local election clerk is no different than giving the ballot to the clerk. The decision acknowledges that clerks may lawfully utilize secure drop boxes at their discretion.
All three conservative justices dissented, with Justice Rebecca Bradley accusing the liberals of advancing their political agenda and ignoring the precedent set by the 2022 ruling. She argued that the majority’s activism marked a triumph of political power over legal principle.
The popularity of absentee voting surged during the pandemic, with more than 40% of voters casting mail ballots in 2020. At least 500 drop boxes were set up in over 430 communities for that election. Despite allegations of cheating, there was no evidence of fraud, vandalism, or theft that could have affected the results.
Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature intervened in the case, arguing that the justices should leave the 2022 ruling alone. However, the court’s liberal justices concluded that the 2022 ruling was wrongly decided.
The ruling has been met with mixed reactions. Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell called drop boxes a “common sense tool” that makes the election process more convenient and easier for rural and disabled voters. Disability Rights Wisconsin celebrated the ruling, and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway called it a win for all voters.
The decision is expected to make it easier for Wisconsinites to vote by reinstating a “convenient and reliable option.” Attorney David Fox, who argued the case on behalf of Priorities USA, stated that the ruling ensures that ballots placed in drop boxes will be counted.
The ruling stands to significantly affect the upcoming elections in Wisconsin, where absentee voting has become increasingly common. The decision underscores the importance of secure and accessible voting options for all voters, including those with disabilities.
Source: NBC News, AP News, Wisconsin Public Radio
