The Sconi

Voter integrity advocates applauded a state Supreme Court ruling that drop boxes for mail ballots are permitted only in election offices, and that the ballots must be returned by the voters, not by third parties.  

The ruling came after the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) sued the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) in June 2021 over the wide use of drop boxes during the 2020 election and the collection of mail ballots by third parties, sometimes referred to as ballot harvesting.

“This decision provides substantial clarity on the legal status of absentee ballot drop boxes and ballot harvesting,” WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg said in a statement. “While the question of whether an agent may mail an absentee ballot remains open, Wisconsin voters can have confidence that state law, not guidance from the Wisconsin Elections Commission, has the final word on how Wisconsin elections are conducted.”

Ron Heuer, president of the Wisconsin Voter Alliance (WVA), called last week’s 4-3 Supreme Court decision a “big win,” one that had implications for his group’s lawsuits against WEC, lawsuits that focus on the use of “Zucker Bucks” to finance election administration.

“The Wisconsin Voter Alliance members along with Thomas More Society Attorney Erick Kaardal have filed over 20 complaints in Wisconsin Courts dealing with the overreach of the Wisconsin Election Commission regarding absentee ballot drop boxes, ballot harvesting and the use of Zuckerbucks, (private money) in our elections,” Heuer told The Sconi in an email. “Today's ruling will put us in place to win seven of our pending cases that are directed at holding both the Wisconsin Election Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe and the city clerks in Wisconsin's largest cities accountable for their unlawful decisions.”

The WVA complaints allege that the municipal clerks in Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, Kenosha and Green Bay -- all under Democratic control -- had no legal authority to allow the use of drop boxes for mail ballots leading up to the 2020 general election. The WVA cites state law requires that mail ballots must be mailed back or handed directly to an election official. The Supreme Court based its decision on the same law.

The newly filed legal action also included a complaint against WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe for instructing election officials on the use of drop boxes.

Ken Cuccinelli, national chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative and former Virginia Attorney General, told The Sconi that the organization was grateful to see the court result in Wisconsin.

“Given the insecurity and lack of transparency - not to mention the abuse - of so-called 'ballot drop-boxes', we are relieved to see the law enforced in such a way as to reduce the potential for illegal ballot trafficking and to start to correct violations of Wisconsin's own laws by Wisconsin's own government officials in administering elections,” Cuccinelli said. “This is a great day for Wisconsin election security and transparency."