A pivotal decision from the Wisconsin Supreme Court has authorized the reinstatement of ballot drop boxes for the forthcoming 2024 elections.
According to Conservative Brief, the recent decision overturns a prior verdict, indicating the court's shift to a liberal majority.
The critical ruling passed with a 4-3 vote, marked a stark reversal from the court’s conservative-dominated decision post-2020 elections, which prohibited the use of these boxes. The transformation followed the election of Justice Janet Protasiewicz, heavily supported by Democratic funding, which tipped the balance towards liberal leanings on the bench.
Justice Ann Walsh Bradley highlighted the importance of this ruling, stating that it caters to a more accessible voting process. According to Bradley, while the state Constitution does not detail the use of drop boxes explicitly, it does allow county clerks the discretion to employ such measures if they deem fit.
In her ruling, Justice Bradley interpreted the language of state legislation, emphasizing the flexibility it allows: "By mandating that an absentee ballot be returned not to the ‘municipal clerk’s office,’ but ‘to the municipal clerk,’ the Legislature disclaimed the idea that the ballot must be delivered to a specific location and instead embraced delivery of an absentee ballot to a person... Given this, the question then becomes whether delivery to a drop box constitutes delivery ‘to the municipal clerk.'"
Justice Rebecca Bradley presented a dissenting view. She criticized the decision as both politically motivated and lacking in legal robustness, asserting it undermines statutory laws and previous judicial precedents.
Justice Rebecca Bradley articulated her disapproval in depth, "The majority again forsakes the rule of law in an attempt to advance its political agenda. The majority began this term by tossing the legislative maps adopted by this court… to facilitate ‘the redistribution of political power in the Wisconsin Legislature’. The majority ends the term by loosening the Legislature’s regulations governing the privilege of absentee voting in the hope of tipping the scales in future elections. To reach this conclusion, the majority misrepresents the court’s decision in Teigen, replaces the only reasonable interpretation of the law with a highly implausible one, and tramples the doctrine of stare decisis."
The 2023 judicial election, where Janet Protasiewicz faced Daniel Kelly, was markedly influenced by significant campaign funding. Reports from WisPolitics outlined the vast disparity in contributions, with Protasiewicz raising nearly $12.4 million, substantially more than Kelly's $2.2 million. This financial advantage played a crucial role in reshaping the court's composition and its ideological direction.
Wisconsin has consistently been a key battleground state in national elections, with shifts between Democratic and Republican victories in recent presidential races. The decision to permit ballot drop boxes is seen by many as a move to enhance voter accessibility, particularly in urban areas that tend to have higher concentrations of Democratic voters.
The court’s decision does not obligate the use of drop boxes but allows clerks the discretion to implement them to facilitate absentee voting.
The majority opinion clarified, "Our decision today does not force or require that any municipal clerks use drop boxes. It merely acknowledges what has always meant: that clerks may lawfully utilize secure drop boxes in an exercise of their statutorily conferred discretion."
This development is expected to have significant implications for the upcoming 2024 presidential election, potentially affecting voter turnout and the ease of voting across Wisconsin.
As the political landscape gears up for the 2024 elections, the revised stance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on ballot drop boxes underscores a significant shift, potentially influencing the broader dynamics of voting accessibility and electoral fairness in this crucial battleground state.
