The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday greatly limited the use of ballot drop boxes and ruled that voters may not give their completed absentee ballots to others to return.
This decision is considered a win for Republicans who have argued that unmonitored ballot drop boxes might have facilitated voter fraud in the last presidential election, Axios reported.
Wisconsin has long used ballot drop boxes, but in 2020, election clerks greatly expanded their use, The Washington Post reported.
By the time the November presidential election rolled around, there were more than 500 drop box locations throughout the state.
The new ruling ensured that won’t happen again, however, with the court saying in its opinion that “ballot drop boxes are illegal under Wisconsin statutes.”
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The court also banned the practice of “ballot harvesting,” ruling that voters must return absentee ballots themselves.
“The key phrase is ‘in person’ and it must be assigned its natural meaning,” Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote for the majority in the court’s ruling.
Bradley said Wisconsin law doesn’t allow the use of drop boxes anywhere other than election clerk offices, and only the state Legislature has the power to change that policy.
Although the court ruled against the broad use of ballot drop boxes, it was a slim 4-3 decision.
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