MILWAUKEE —  In the midst of a busy election season, the Wisconsin Supreme Court voted Friday to reinstate the use of ballot drop boxes across the state.

What You Need To Know

  • The 4-3 ruling overturned a decision the state’s high court made less than two years ago; the previous ruling banned the use of ballot drop boxes. Spectrum News was there when crews removed all ballot boxes from Milwaukee back in 2022

  • Now, the city is putting those boxes back out ahead of the August partisan primaries

  • Ballot drop boxes were used in Wisconsin since the 1980s and became more popular during the pandemic. However, their legality and security were questioned by many Republicans following President Joe Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election

The 4-3 ruling overturned a decision the state’s high court made less than two years ago; the previous ruling banned the use of ballot drop boxes. Spectrum News was there when crews removed all ballot boxes from Milwaukee back in 2022.

Now, the city is putting those boxes back out ahead of the August partisan primaries.

“This is just another opportunity for us to provide a safe and secure way for people to drop off their absentee ballots here to the city of Milwaukee,” said Paulina Gutierrez, the executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission.

Gutierrez said ballot drop boxes are an especially helpful option for people with special needs.

“People with American Disability Act considerations, you know, most of our ballot boxes we attempt to put in places where people can just drive up to them,” said Gutierrez.

Ballot drop boxes were used in Wisconsin since the 1980s and became more popular during the pandemic. However, their legality and security were questioned by many Republicans following President Joe Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Gutierrez described the process that goes into making sure ballot boxes are extremely secure.

“We have a very robust paper trail and chain of custody process,” said Gutierrez. “Every time we are handling ballots, it’s always more than one person. We have security cameras at all of our drop box locations. There’s a whole process of making sure that information is completed. Pictures are taken. The ballots are then removed and put into a safe and secure ballot bag. They’re secured, sealed and transported immediately from the box over to our operations center where again all ballots come through and are handled in a secure fashion.” 

She said she believes adding back this voting option is a crucial step in making sure everyone in Wisconsin can cast their votes.

“It’s an opportunity to increase voter engagement and opportunities for people to submit their ballots to us in a secure way. It’s a great way to increase voter turnout,” said Gutierrez.

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