Madison, Wisconsin, — The Democrats are taking their fight for the return of absentee ballots in drop boxes to the state Supreme Court, which is controlled by liberals, by appealing a judge's decision to reject their complaint. In 2022, after former President Donald Trump voiced his disapproval, Wisconsin banned the use of absentee ballot drop boxes.
On Tuesday, attorneys for the national Democratic company Elias Law Group announced their intention to appeal a circuit judge's decision last week, which dismissed their claims contesting the validity of many voting regulations in the state that is considered a battleground.
According to Dane County Circuit Judge Ann Peacock, the case failed to fulfill the "high burden" necessary to establish that the challenged voting procedures were inherently illegal in every instance. But she didn't say if we should reevaluate the legitimacy of the ballot drop boxes for absentee voters.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court should be the one to revisit that decision," the judge wrote.
The usage of absentee ballot drop boxes, which gained immense popularity in 2020 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, was outlawed in July 2022 by the 4-3 conservative majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, months before the midterm election. Trump, who secured Wisconsin in 2016 but lost the state in 2020, has made baseless accusations about the prevalence of absentee voting fraud in the state.
Shortly after the case was filed in July to reinstate drop boxes, the Wisconsin Supreme Court switched to a liberal majority less than two weeks later. As one of just a few states that might decide the presidential election, the voting regulations in Wisconsin are receiving extra attention. Including the most recent two, four of Wisconsin's six presidential elections have been decided by less than one percentage point.
The lawsuit aims to restore the legality of drop boxes, eliminate the need for a witness to sign absentee votes, and ensure that voters have until 8 p.m. on Election Day to rectify any issues with their ballots. That the right to vote absentee, and not a privilege, is a violation of the Wisconsin Constitution is the central argument.
A Dane County citizen, the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, and the national Democratic organization Priorities USA filed a complaint against the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
STAY TURNED FOR DEVELOPMENT