Wisconsin elections chief says drop boxes can be ‘secure option’ for voters if clerks follow guidance

The administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission says ballot drop boxes can be another “secure option” for voters during the presidential election.

However, it appears fewer communities across the state are using them this year.

Drop boxes have been the subject of a series of legal battles in the state. In 2022 the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that they were illegal. Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court reversed that 2022 decision and ruled that municipal clerks have the option to provide them for voters.

During a press conference Wednesday, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said clerks have reported there are 78 individual drop boxes in use so far this year. She said that’s down from around 500 in 2020 when drop boxes were a popular option for voters during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

After the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision this year, the commission issued suggested guidance for municipal clerks for their ballot box use, which said the boxes should be affixed to the ground and should be in a well-lit area.

“I think that if clerks do go through that list of security recommendations as they’re considering their options, I think we should have a great deal of confidence that that (drop boxes) is a secure option if a voter chooses and feels comfortable with that return option,” Wolfe said. 

The use of ballot drop boxes has become politicized in recent years. The Wisconsin Department of Investigation is currently leading an investigation into Wausau Mayor Doug Diny’s actions after he removed an absentee ballot drop box outside of Wausau City Hall. 

“I think that a lot of communities have had some additional considerations or pressures within their communities that may have led to whatever their decision might be,” Wolfe said about the numbers Wednesday. 

Wolfe said municipalities do not have to report locations of drop boxes to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Because of that, she said there could be more drop boxes in use across the state.

Anna Anderson, the voting rights coordinator for Disability Rights Wisconsin, said drop boxes are a useful tool for disabled people.

She called them a “safe and secure way for people to cast a ballot.”

“It’s too bad, and I think what it does is marginalize people and people that are already marginalized from being able to cast a ballot, and everybody’s voice should be heard if they want it to be heard,” Anderson said. “So having an easy, and accessible and secure way to cast a ballot only makes sense to me.”

As of Tuesday, Wolfe said there were 562,644 absentee ballots requested by voters across the state. Of those, 239,997 had been returned to their municipal clerk so far.

Wolfe said at the same time in 2020, there were over 1.3 million absentee ballot requests made, and more than 700,000 absentee ballots had been returned. 

“This data illustrates that absentee voting trends are beginning to look more like pre-2020 levels,” Wolfe said.

Wolfe said in-person absentee voting — which starts Tuesday — is another option for voters to cast their ballots.

“So I think that voters have a lot of choices to make, and I think that we have a lot of really great, secure options here in the state of Wisconsin that allow people to make the decision that’s best for them,” Wolfe said.