BREAKING: A Waukesha County judge bars the use of absentee ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Mark Bohren ruled Thursday absentee ballot drop boxes can't be used in Wisconsin, potentially upending aspects of the spring elections and the fall's high-profile contests for governor and U.S. Senate.
Bohren determined state law allows absentee ballots to be returned in person or by mail but not in a ballot drop box.
"It's all good and nice, but there's no authority to do it," Bohren said of the use of drop boxes.
He said he would finalize an injunction in 10 days ordering the state Elections Commission to withdraw long-standing advice to municipal clerks around the state that says they can use absentee ballot drop boxes.
Drop boxes have long been available in some Wisconsin communities, but their use expanded greatly in 2020 when absentee voting exploded because of the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 500 of them were available in the state during the presidential election.
Bohren's decision will affect how ballots can be returned in next month's low-turnout primary for the spring elections.
His ruling will have more far-reaching consequences in the fall, when far more people vote in the races for governor and U.S. Senate.
An appeal is likely and the state Supreme Court could weigh in on the case eventually.
Over the last year or so, the justices have declined to take up the issue.
A correction: The judge's name is Michael Bohren (not Mark).
The judge issued his order about a month before the Feb. 15 spring primary.
An attorney for @drwisconsin (and others) contended he could not change the rules of voting so close to an election.
Expect to see that point raised as one of the issues on appeal.
@drwisconsin Under this ruling, voters can place ballots in blue postal boxes maintained by @USPS but not ballot drop boxes maintained by municipal clerks.
The former are on street corners scattered around the state. The latter are often in libraries or fire stations and watched by cameras.
An attorney for Green Bay refused Thursday to provide Assembly Republicans with private information about voters and questioned their ability to legally continue their review of the 2020 election.
Daniel Lenz, an attorney for Green Bay, questioned whether Gableman can continue his review given that his contract with the state appears to have expired at the end of December.
"It is not clear whether you currently are an appointed agent, attorney, or counsel for the Wisconsin State Assembly or otherwise a person authorized to act on behalf of the Committee," Lenz wrote.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is calling on Wisconsin lawmakers to take over elections and tell local officials to ignore the work of the bipartisan state Elections Commission.
.@SenRonJohnson: "I think the state Legislature has to reassert, reclaim this authority over our election system.”
"There's no mention of the governor in the Constitution. It says state legislatures, and so if I were running the joint — & I’m not — I would come out & I would just say, 'We're reclaiming our authority. Don't listen to (@WI_Elections) anymore. Their guidances are null & void.'"