"The state is unique in its election administration; it vests this authority in a bipartisan body called the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC). In March 2020, the WEC issued
guidance to local clerks outlining “options for ensuring that the maximum number of ballots are returned” for the upcoming primary election. The options included drop boxes and indicated that “clerks should ensure they are secure, can be monitored for security purposes, and should be regularly emptied.” Additionally, the WEC stated that “a family member or another person may also return the ballot on behalf of the voter.”
"Today, we’re not rebutting the legal analysis — the dissent written by the
other Justice Bradley on the court, liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, did a good job at that — but we are identifying and responding to particularly harmful conclusions reached by the majority.
The majority reads the relevant Wisconsin statute to only permit absentee ballots returned one of two ways: voters can deliver their own ballots in person to a municipal clerk or place their ballots in the mail. The majority found that the phrase “to the municipal clerk” in the statute meant an “inanimate object, such as a ballot drop box, cannot be the municipal clerk.”
The majority prohibits voters from placing their ballots in drop boxes, which have been specifically designed for this purpose. At the same time, the majority allows voters to place their ballots into mail boxes. This nonsensical distinction simply makes it harder for people to vote.
For voters concerned about privacy or delays with the U.S. Postal Service, ballot drop boxes are a convenient alternative. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission issued
guidance on their use, calling a drop box a “secure, locked structure operated by election officials.” A
recent study conducted by the Associated Press reinforced this conclusion: “None of the election offices in states that allowed the use of drop boxes in 2020 reported any instances in which the boxes were connected to voter fraud or stolen ballots."
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