MADISON, Wis. — Tuesday’s primary election will be the first under the new legislative maps signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers earlier this year.
It will also be the first election that ballot drop boxes can be used again, after a July ruling from the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
However, whether there will be a drop box in your neighborhood depends on where you live, as clerks are not required to use them.
Since the ruling that overturned a ban on ballot drop boxes, the Wisconsin Elections Commission drafted guidance for usage. While not mandatory, the recommendations include securely affixing a drop box to the ground or a building, having a small enough slot so large objects can’t be put in, as well as positioning it in a well-lit, public area.
Many of those suggestions are already happening in big cities, including Madison.
“Around the state, and including Dane County, there [are] different setups. Not all of them have cameras on them, not all of them have been put back up,” Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell explained. “That’s still the choice of the clerk in that community, whether they want to install that drop box at all.”
A choice the New Berlin Common Council unanimously made when it decided not to use its only box this fall, which was first installed in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meeting documents show concerned voters appreciated the single box being under 24-hour surveillance with access limited to city clerk personnel, however, concerns about ballots getting lost or tampered with were still raised.
In Dane County, McDonell believes the boxes serve a purpose, especially before an election.
“Our mail now goes to Milwaukee and comes back. It used to be quicker, it used to be more reliable. The drop box really serves that need for making sure your ballot is received by Tuesday,” McDonell explained.
McDonell also said the usage recommendations from the state’s elections commission should only improve the process and lead to better security.
“I think they’re taking the guidance seriously,” McDonell said of clerks across the county. “I think they appreciate it, so they are looking at ways to make sure it’s more secure. Maybe they had a camera on the parking lot, but now they are making sure they can see the drop box more clearly. They are going to maybe record and hold [those] images.”
“I never really understood stuffing a ballot box or stuffing a drop box. With what? [Clerks] also know what ballots they sent out, so that’s what they are going to be looking for coming back,” McDonell added.