Municipal clerks are once again able to use drop boxes to collect returned absentee voting ballots. As many municipal clerks will tell you, “drop boxes” for the return of government documents, including ballots, have been used throughout the state for decades, often in the form of slots or boxes at municipal buildings. They became more popular during the Covid-19 pandemic for ballot return. Then, in 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in Teigen v. Wisconsin Election Commission, ruled that ballot drop boxes were not statutorily authorized and banned their use.
The Teigen decision had proven to be difficult for municipal clerks to apply. The ruling invalidated drop boxes but left a lack of clarity in its wake over how precisely clerks could collect absentee ballots, other than through the mail or hand-to-hand delivery, and whether staffed drop boxes were still permitted. The ruling proved to be particularly difficult to implement for rural-area clerks, who are often not full-time workers and may only be at their municipal post for a few hours a week during which a voter could conceivably return their absentee ballots.
Municipal clerks are once again able to rely on this commonsense ballot return method after the Supreme Court’s course correction in Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Election Commission. In Priorities USA, the Wisconsin Supreme Court reconsidered its holding in Teigen and, on July 5, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that municipal clerks do, in fact, have the legislatively granted authority to establish secure drop boxes to facilitate the return of absentee ballots by voters in their district.
In response to the ruling, the Wisconsin Elections Commission issued updated guidance on how municipal clerks can properly use drop boxes in administering elections. Municipal clerks are not required to use drop boxes. However, if they do, they should comply with the Election Commission’s guidance, which is available here.
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