WI voters rally outside EC City Hall in support of bringing back ballot drop boxes

EAU CLAIRE — As the Wisconsin Supreme Court revisits the ban on ballot drop boxes, some voters across Wisconsin are hoping that this method of ballot casting returns.

The rally of voters took place on Monday, the same day in which oral arguments were set to begin for the case of Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Elections Commission. The case, pushed by Democrats, seeks to overturn a ruling in July 2022 which said absentee drop boxes may only be installed in election clerk offices, as unsupervised ones are no longer allowed.

Gatherers were scheduled to meet at places such as the Wisconsin State Capitol, the Milwaukee Public Library and even in front of Eau Claire City Hall.

“This is our way to bring awareness to this and talk about different ways that drop boxes have benefited people that we have heard from and know about,” said Rep. Jodi Emerson, D-Eau Claire, who attended the rally.

Emerson said that an occupation, such as being a farmer during spring or fall harvest, may call for an unpredictable schedule which conflicts with their opportunity to vote in-person at local polls.

Another benefit that drop boxes can offer is to make elections for smaller communities easier, Emerson contends.

“In the city of Eau Claire, we are lucky enough that we have got a full-time election staff here,” she said. “But some towns or villages have a very part-time place, and they are not able to have office hours where people can come and bring their ballot to them.”

As mail-in ballots exist as a current method of absentee voting, Emerson and other attendees pointed out that difficulty with the postal service delays leave voters worried about their ballots getting casted in the election.

But part of the concern and pushback against this method of absentee voting is the claim that drop boxes lead to voter fraud.

“I really think that there is a lot of push back for absentee voting because people don’t understand it,” Emerson said. “There are so many checks and balances that are needed. Nobody can just get an absentee ballot and make photocopies of it; that is just not how it works.”

She continued: “We should be making it easier for people who want to vote and are legally able to vote, not making it harder… It is our responsibility to vote. And people who have the ability and desire to vote should be able to do it as it works with their schedule, because not everybody works the nine-to-five anymore.”

At the time of this article, the Associated Press reported that liberal justices in the Wisconsin Supreme Court showed signs Monday of wanting to overturn the ban. However, conservative justices still questioned the need to revisit their earlier ruling which established that Wisconsin law does not allow for unsupervised drop boxes.