Supreme Court to consider drop box ban

Posted at 2 p.m. on Thursday, January 27, 2022

The Brillion News

MADISON - The Supreme Court of Wisconsin has agreed to consider the question of whether the use of drop boxes for absentee ballots should be allowed in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed an emergency motion to have the high court take up the case, bypassing the state Court of Appeals.

[State Supreme Court chambers entrance at the state capitol building in Madison >>]

The case in question, Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, challenges the guidance issued by the WEC that allowed absentee ballots to be dropped in collection boxes instead of being delivered to clerk's offices directly.

The suit challenging drop boxes cites state law that says absentee ballots can only be delivered in person or mailed to the clerk.

The suit challenging drop boxes was filed in a Waukesha County Circuit Court, which ruled the WEC was acting illegally when it OK'd the use of ballot drop boxes. An appeals court imposed a stay of the circuit court order, but now the appeals court and its stay are being bypassed and the case is in the hands of the supreme court justices.

The supreme court on January 26 ordered that the WEC has until 5 p.m. on Thursday, January 27, to respond to the suit against it, which was filed by two Waukesha County voters.