The State Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Monday morning in a case that attempts to bring absentee ballot drop boxes back to Wisconsin.
Use of the drop boxes rose during the 2020 elections, due to COVID-19 concerns. But after the false claims that Republican Donald Trump lost Wisconsin in the presidential race that year due to voter fraud, the then-conservative controlled state court banned unattended drop boxes prior to the fall 2022 elections.
The national progressive group Priorities USA and a Wisconsin seniors group are asking the now-liberal controlled court to basically reverse that ruling.
Common Cause-Wisconsin has joined the case on the side of the plaintiffs. Executive Director Jay Heck explains:
“There should be ways for voters to return their absentee ballots so they have some assurance that they’ll be counted. The U.S. Mail is not always reliable in getting them back to the clerks in time. So, this is just something that benefits every voter regardless of how they vote," Heck says.
Heck also says people with disabilities would be able to return their ballot more efficiently. The Associated Press says 29 states allow some form of absentee drop box, but Heck says Wisconsin is the only purple or swing state that does not.
State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Racine County) would like to keep the ban on unsupervised drop boxes. The legislative leader says that in the state court in 2022, it was clear that Wisconsin law does not allow the boxes.
“I hope the Supreme Court will realize precedent is important and when a case has been decided they should allow it to remain, so the people of Wisconsin know that we can have faith in our justice system," Vos says.
Vos says he trusts the U.S. Postal Service to deliver completed absentee ballots to local election clerks.
Wisconsin Atty. Gen. Josh Kaul (D) recently filed a legal brief contending state law does not ban the use of absentee drop boxes. A Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling on the case is expected before the state primary elections in August.
