The Sconi

Judge Janet Protasiewicz has made no secret of her personal political beliefs on a variety of issues including election law. Last year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled absentee ballot drop boxes unconstitutional by a slim 4-3 decision. The issue could be brought before the court again in the future and Protasiewicz's strong support from liberal entities that are in favor of the drop boxes has been a cause for concern for some.

“Last year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that unsecure ballot drop boxes were illegal under the Wisconsin Constitution. Given the insecurity and lack of transparency—not to mention the abuse—of these so-called ‘ballot drop-boxes,’ the court’s ruling was a victory for free and fair elections,” Election Transparency Initiative National Chairman Ken Cuccinelli said in a statement. “However, Judge Janet Protasiewicz has made it abundantly clear from her statements that she will make her decisions, not on the basis of law, but rather based on her own personal views and partisan politics. As potential legal challenges to this law and others emerge, it’s clear that if Judge Protasiewicz is elected to the court, she will choose partisan politics over fair elections.” 

According to The Cap Times, absentee ballot drop boxes were ruled unconstitutional in Wisconsin in 2020 in a 4-3 ruling. In the majority opinion, Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote that as the law requires absentee ballots to be returned directly to municipal clerks through the mail or in person, “an inanimate object, such as a ballot drop box, cannot be the municipal clerk,” she said. “At a minimum, accordingly, dropping a ballot into an unattended drop box is not delivery ‘to the municipal clerk.’”

Disability rights groups have expressed concerns that the removal of absentee ballot drop boxes will infringe on their right to vote. However, even those groups admit that federal protections were not affected by this decision, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.

"The right for voters with disabilities to have assistance from a person of their choice is protected by federal law," said Disability Rights Wisconsin's Barbara Beckert. "Nothing in this decision changes federal protections for people with disabilities."

According to the Election Transparency Initiative, ballot trafficking permits individuals such as political activists to collect ballots from other people and deliver them to unsecure, unmanned ballot drop boxes. Absentee ballot drop boxes were employed in 2020 for the first time on a wide scale.

A poll conducted by Scott Rasmussen for the Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty found that 65% of Wisconsin voters supported proposals that would make it end ballot trafficking.

In a March 7 twitter post, Protasiewicz wrote "Coupled with the trend of extreme gerrymandering, voter suppression laws, Wisconsin’s 173-year-old abortion ban and the potential for the Supreme Court to undermine the Voting Rights Act, the conservative takeover of the Wisconsin Supreme Court poses a serious threat to our democracy," seeming to signal her personal views on election law.

Despite the responsibility of justices to remain impartial, Dan Kelly,  Protasiewicz's opponent, believes that Protasiewicz has already been "bought and paid for by the Democratic Party," according to Wis Politics. And this would be an issue that the Democratic party would certainly expect dividends on their multimillion-dollar investment in Protasiewicz.

Wis Politics reports that the Democratic Party of Wisconsin transferred at least $2.5 million directly to Protasiewicz's campaign.