WAUKESHA COUNTY, WI – Earlier in January, a Waukesha County circuit court judge ruled that the likes of ballot drop boxes and ballot harvesting cannot be utilized with respect to absentee ballots, citing that current state law prohibits such matters.

Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren delivered the ruling on January 13th after three hours of arguments were presented to the court, noting that state law only allows absentee ballots to be returned either in-person or by mail.

When commenting on the concept of ballot drop boxes, Judge Bohren stated, “It’s all good and nice, but there’s no authority to do it.”

The section of Wisconsin law that pertained to abolishing the practice of ballot harvesting came under Wisconsin statute 12.13 (3)(n), which reads “Prohibited Acts. No person may… Receive a ballot from or give a ballot to a person other than the election official in charge.”

Judge Bohren’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Richard Teigen of Hartland and Richard Thom of Menomonee Falls back in June of 2021. The two were being represented by the conservative outfit Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) who challenged the legality of ballot drop boxes.

During the 2020 election, hundreds of ballot drop boxes were established throughout the state, as well as the Wisconsin Elections Commission having sent a memo in the leadup to the 2020 elections that informed municipal clerks that “a family member or another person may also return the ballot on behalf of the voter.”

Attorneys representing Wisconsin’s Elections Commissions argued that state law didn’t prohibit the use of ballot drop boxes or other avenues outside of voters directly returning their ballots in-person or mailing them in, but clearly those arguments did not resonate with Judge Bohren.

Outside of barring the practice of ballot harvesting and use of ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel speculated that Judge Bohren’s ruling will likely prohibit previously held events like “Democracy in the Park” where voters could return absentee ballots to poll workers attending the park event.

Judge Bohren’s ruling on this matter, which The Federalist noted in their report “will almost certainly be appealed,” comes ahead of the 2022 midterms – with Wisconsin being a state closely watched with respect to incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson vying for a third term and several Democrats looking to unseat him.

This piece was written by Gregory Hoyt on January 18, 2022. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com and is used by permission.

 

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