Wisconsin Supreme Court Makes HUGE Ruling On Ballot Drop Boxes

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled absentee ballot drop boxes are no longer allowed in the state.

In the majority decision, Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote “Nothing in the statutory language detailing the procedures by which absentee ballots may be cast mentions drop boxes or anything like them.”

Justice Bradley continued “WEC’s staff may have been trying to make voting as easy as possible during the pandemic, but whatever their motivations, WEC must follow Wisconsin statutes.”

In the ruling, the Supreme Court also ruled that it’s illegal for a roommate or spouse to return an absentee ballot for another person.

Wisconsin Supreme Court BANS use of absentee ballot drop boxes in big election ruling https://t.co/80mpelrKXL pic.twitter.com/MWNMAzHyUm

— ✟ Right Scoop ✟ (@trscoop) September 23, 2023

#Wisconsin – State Supreme Court rules that unattended absentee ballot drop boxes are illegal and may only be placed in election offices, or voters can deliver with mail. It also stated that voters cannot have others return their absentee ballots for themhttps://t.co/YWJ7LaBBJ5 pic.twitter.com/A1c6rtFyjf

— CyclistAnons🚲 (@CyclistAnons) July 8, 2022

Here’s what Wisconsin Public Radio reported:

Absentee ballot drop boxes won’t be allowed in Wisconsin under a ruling handed down Friday by a divided Wisconsin Supreme Court.

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The court’s conservative majority also ruled that it’s illegal for someone else, like a spouse or roommate, to return a voter’s completed absentee ballot to the clerk’s office. The voter must carry out that task personally.

The majority decision was written by Justice Rebecca Bradley and joined by the rest of the court’s conservative majority, including swing Justice Brian Hagedorn.

Both rulings mean absentee voting in Wisconsin’s 2022 election and beyond won’t be as convenient as it was two years ago when it surged during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Nothing in the statutory language detailing the procedures by which absentee ballots may be cast mentions drop boxes or anything like them,” Bradley wrote.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission issued guidance in 2020 providing local clerks with advice on the best practices for unstaffed drop boxes if they chose to use them. Bradley wrote that guidance exceeded the WEC’s authority.

“WEC’s staff may have been trying to make voting as easy as possible during the pandemic, but whatever their motivations, WEC must follow Wisconsin statutes,” Bradley wrote. “Good intentions never override the law.”

Wisconsin Supreme Court BANS use of absentee ballot drop boxes in big election ruling https://t.co/hzqVHmR2G8 pic.twitter.com/ojM0Wo6c6v

— The Right Scoop (@TheRightScoop) September 23, 2023

Per The Right Scoop:

The state of Wisconsin will no longer be able to use absentee ballot drop boxes as they did three years using COVID as an excuse.

The conservative majority of the state’s high court ruled that the boxes are illegal and that when someone delivers an absentee ballot to the clerk’s office, it must be done by the voter and not someone else.

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Absentee ballot drop boxes won’t be allowed in Wisconsin under a ruling handed down Friday by a divided Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The court’s conservative majority also ruled that it’s illegal for someone else, like a spouse or roommate, to return a voter’s completed absentee ballot to the clerk’s office. The voter must carry out that task personally.