Here & Now

Why the Wisconsin Supreme Court Banned Ballot Drop Boxes

Frederica Freyberg:

Turning to election news, absentee ballot drop boxes used across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic are now illegal after a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that was released today. Senior political reporter Zac Schultz joins us from the Capitol with more. Hey, Zac.

Zac Schultz:

Hello, Fred.

Frederica Freyberg:

So this is a big change for voters since the last big election.

Zac Schultz:

That’s right. These were widely used. Drop boxes weren’t in part of the old state history and they weren’t part of state law, which is what created the legal uncertainty surrounding them during the lead up to the COVID pandemic and all those elections. Clerks around the state said well, they’re not barred so we’re going to use them. And there were no lawsuits at that time but since then there have been lawsuits and the Supreme Court issued their 4-3 disjointed decision. But overall, what they’re saying is just because it’s not mentioned doesn’t make it legal. They ruled that because of some of the language in state statutes dealing with absentee ballots, drop boxes are illegal in Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what do voters do now in the upcoming election?

Zac Schultz:

Well, I have my absentee ballot right here. We’re about a month away from the August primary election. And I could either put this in a mailbox, in my mailbox or one of the official federal mailboxes that looks an awful like a drop box but is not a drop box because it’s a federal mailbox. Big distinction now according to Wisconsin law. Or I can physically bring it to the clerk, my municipal clerk where I would vote and hand it in there, or I can bring to it the poll on voting day. What I can’t do is I can’t give it to someone else to bring it in for me to the clerk. That is now illegal due to this ruling. And I also cannot put it in a drop box. So I have to be — think a little bit more about where I want to put it. The case this may come up in is for voters who wait until much closer to the election, either make their vote or get their ballot and receive it. If they don’t trust the federal mail is going to get it back in, which was a big question in the 2020 and the pandemic with some of those slow mail returns or if they’re physically not able to travel in, then the question is how do they make sure that their vote counts if they’re voting absentee?

Frederica Freyberg:

What was the reasoning on the part of the Supreme Court for banning these or prohibiting these boxes?

Zac Schultz:

There is nothing in state law about absentee voting drop boxes. Absentee voting is not a right, it’s a privilege afforded by the legislature. You have a right to vote but voting absentee is something that can be controlled by state law. What the Supreme Court announced with the conservatives ruling is that because the language said it has to be delivered to the municipal clerk, that they meant personally handed to them. It can’t be put in an unmanned drop box which was what drop boxes would have been.

Frederica Freyberg:

So the dissenting liberal justices had something to say about this.

Zac Schultz:

Yeah. They believed this is just further encumbering voting rights in Wisconsin. They said it was unnecessary, that it actually plays into some fringe conspiracy theories being pushed by conservatives around the country. Remember Donald Trump sued saying it was actually drop boxes in Dane and Milwaukee County that were filled with fraud. There’s absolutely no basis for that whatsoever. So some of the liberals on the court say this doesn’t help with people’s belief in the security of our elections.

Frederica Freyberg:

We leave it there. We know you have some good online reporting on this. Zac Schultz. Thanks very much.

Zac Schultz:

Thank you.