Wisconsin Republicans tell voters not to fear Supreme Court decision expected to overturn voting law

Republicans are switching gears on ballot boxes in Wisconsin as the state’s Supreme Court looks keen on reinstating them. 

In 2022, the then-right-leaning court ruled the use of ballot drop boxes in most circumstances was unlawful because they were not accounted for in any existing Wisconsin law. Now, a new left-leaning Wisconsin Supreme Court is hearing a case that would reverse that ruling and reinstate the boxes. 

“We have to deal with the law the way it is, not the way we wish it was or the way we hoped it would be someday,” Wisconsin GOP Chairman Brian Schimming said. “We have to deal with things as they are, not maybe how we wish they were sometimes, and that’s going to apply to drop boxes.”

This move toward accepting early and absentee ballots, a practice that has been around since at least the 1990s in many states, could be a sign that Republicans nationally are warming to the idea of their base using the voting method. 

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed that ballot drop boxes led to widespread voter fraud in 2020. He has switched course, recently posting on Truth Social, “Absentee voting, early voting and election day voting are all good options,” and urging Republican voters to “make a plan, register and vote!”

“Regardless of the outcome, we urge all Republicans to make a plan to vote by the method that works best for you,” Republican National Committee spokeswoman Claire Fortenberry Zunk said in a statement. 

Democrats widely used ballot drop boxes during the 2020 election due to COVID-19. This year, they are expected to do the same. Milwaukee and Dane counties, the state’s Democratic strongholds, had 29 drop boxes between both of them. Ballot drop boxes are present in 66 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties.

Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, is part of one group that filed the amicus brief in support of overturning the 2022 decision to ban the boxes. Groups like his believe ballot boxes allow more accessibility for voting across the Badger State.

“Despite worries and claims by election deniers and conspiracy theorists, drop boxes were not used for any nefarious purpose like they’ve claimed,” he said. 

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Wisconsin is one of seven swing states in the 2024 general election. Presidential elections there have been decided by less than 1 percentage point in four of the last six presidential elections. 

“It could make a difference around the margins,” Heck said. “But, you know, the small margins are important in Wisconsin.”