Wisconsin Supreme Court Issues Decision to Allow Ballot Drop Boxes in Future Elections
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, July 5th, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a decision that will again allow Wisconsin voters to return absentee ballots using ballot drop boxes, a win for Priorities USA, the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, and Wisconsin voters.
Thousands of Wisconsin voters cast their ballots in the 2020 elections using hundreds of drop boxes, but in 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held in a 4-3 decision that drop boxes violated Wisconsin election law and could not be used. This lawsuit was filed on July 20, 2023 against the Wisconsin Elections Commission to challenge that drop box prohibition along with several other aspects of Wisconsin election law that make voting unnecessarily difficult for Wisconsin voters. After the circuit court dismissed our claims, we appealed and asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to bypass the court of appeals and hear the case on an expedited basis. The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed to do so with respect to the legality of drop boxes. In April, Governor Tony Evers intervened in support of our case.
This decision is a major win for Wisconsin voters and will make voting in Wisconsin easier, more reliable, and more secure in this year’s general election and beyond.
“Banning ballot drop boxes is a blatant attempt to make absentee voting harder than it needs to be,” said Danielle Butterfield, Executive Director of Priorities USA. “The Wisconsin Supreme Court made the right call in allowing drop boxes to remain accessible to Wisconsin voters, and will make voting easier and more secure during this cycle and for decades to come. Now more than ever, we need to fight to ensure that every American has the right to cast a ballot without unnecessary barriers, and we look forward to guaranteeing that every American is empowered to participate in our democracy.”
“We are elated by the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision to allow the use of ballot drop boxes in future elections,” said Ross Winklbauer, President of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans. “Older voters in Wisconsin are most likely to vote absentee, and drop boxes are a secure, convenient way for them to return those ballots on time. Our members take the right to vote seriously and will fight anyone who tries to make it harder for them to cast their ballots.”
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