by Jonathan Gramling

While ballot drop-off boxes had been in use for years in many parts of the state and country — in Republican as well as Democratic areas — they became the scapegoat in 2020 when President Donald Trump lost the election. In 2020 when COVID-19 was still keeping people from public areas, the Wisconsin Election Commission allowed city clerks to use ballot boxes to keep the population safe and use of them rose dramatically.

In early returns when the votes from ballot boxes had not been counted, Trump took an early lead, which then changed as the ballot box votes were counted because Republicans had a greater tendency to vote in person rather than vote absentee. Trump claimed the ballot boxes had been stuffed and the Wisconsin electoral votes stolen from him.

In 2022, the 4-3 conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court declared the ballot boxes were unconstitutional.

“In 2022, they outlawed them under this guise that they are illegitimate as unmanned boxes and people cannot return — there were people who would return their family’s ballots to drop boxes — them to ballot drop boxes,” said Nick Ramos, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. “For a couple of years, think about the people who were impacted by that. I spoke with several people from a variety of different communities who used to rely upon them heavily for years, people from the disabilities community, people who were in wheelchairs or had certain ailments that didn’t give them the luxury of just being able to move and go the way that you and I have that opportunity. Think about the people who live in rural communities where things are a little more spread out than living in Madison or Milwaukee. Think about the single parents who are working maybe multiple jobs and also have to take care of their little ones. I could go on and on. A lot of people had to suffer because of that. And I know for a fact that on one of those election days, we had a winter storm and I know that people stayed home and had absentee ballots and did not get to drop them off because of the winter storm.”

Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court — which was now 4-3 liberal — took a second look at the ballot drop box ban.

“They looked at it and said, ‘We erred when we looked at it two years ago’” Ramos said. “’And we are trying to right the wrongs that we did two years ago. And here is the new guidance. And now, effective immediately, municipalities are allowed to use drop boxes if they so choose. You can only return your ballot.’ This was a huge win for everyone whom I was describing and then some. Generations of people who were either using them before for years or people who had never used them before, absentee ballots and absentee voting skyrocketed after COVID-19. his is a huge win. And I am so proud of the people in the grassroots movement for speaking up and having their stories heard not only to their electeds but also to the public in letting people know that we are not alone. We all wanted this. And we weren’t going to let it stand. We showed up at the ballot boxes. We made sure that people were voting for their candidates. And we are going to continue to monitor this and make sure there are legal challenges if there are people who are intimidating voters by monitoring these drop boxes. We will hold those people accountable.”

Dr, Ruben Anthony Jr., CEO of the Urban League of Greater Madison, spoke at a press conference hailing the Supreme Court decision. He felt it was a huge victory for democracy.

“I’m excited to hear the news that the ballot drop boxes are coming back,” Anthony exclaimed. “Reinstating the use of ballot drop boxes ensures that more Wisconsin voters can participate in our democracy. It increases voters participation by making it easier to vote. Ballot drop boxes can help increase voter turnout. Now doesn’t that sound like democracy to you?”

The right to vote was a key demand of the Civil Rights Movement back in the 1960s. Until it was gutted in recent years, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ensured that African Americans and other people of color had the same access to the ballot box as the majority of U.S. citizens. The absentee ballot drop boxes realistically gave equal access to many voters who found it difficult to come vote on Election Day.

“It is an American tradition that elections should represent the will of its citizens and we can only achieve that when we create the maximum opportunity for citizens to cast their vote,” Anthony said. “Ladies and Gentlemen this is one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime.  And we don’t need to make it harder for people to vote. We must make it easier and more convenient for people to vote. Our voting allows us to voice our opinion at the local, state and federal level about who we trust to lead, who we trust to put forth public policies that will affect us now and in the future, who we trust to make policies for our daughters, sons, mother, father and grandparents, who will have the best interest of all Americans. For all of these reason, we thank the Wisconsin Supreme Court for enhancing citizen access to voting. We thank the Wisconsin Supreme Court for defending our democracy.”

And reasonable measures have been put in place to ensure that no fraud occurs with the ballot drop boxes when they are installed.

“When the boxes are out there, clearly they need to be locked,” Ramos said. “It is good when there are cameras. A lot of these ballot drop boxes are usually situated outside of city hall, and the fire and police departments. They are in community spaces that are not in isolated areas where they could be tampered with.”

Next Issue: Meet Nick Ramos