Giving you more options when it comes to voting is the goal of a renewed push by the state’s chief executive regarding absentee voting ballot boxes. Earlier this month, Governor Tony Evers urged the Wisconsin State Supreme Court to take up the case Priorities USA, v. Wisconsin Election Commission, arguing that the state’s election laws do not prohibit drop boxes. “All across our country, election officials have chosen to use drop boxes to ensure that all eligible voters can freely cast their ballots. And they’ve done so while keeping ballots safe and secure,” said Gov. Evers. “At the very heart of our democracy is the fundamental freedom to vote.” The voting method popularized in 2020 during the pandemic was axed in 2022 when the state Supreme Court ruled that state law does not permit drop boxes anywhere other than election clerk offices. Only state lawmakers could change that through new policy. According to the Movement Advancement Project, the decision made Wisconsin one of 12 states that ban the use of drop boxes, representing approximately 24 percent of the population. Common Cause in Wisconsin Executive Director Jay Heck hopes reinstating the practice is what is decided.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the case regarding ballot drop boxes will be heard on May 13th. Adding extra urgency for voting rights advocates is the retirement of Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who announced last week that she would not be running again for her seat in 2025. Bradley is one of the four justices of the court’s liberal majority that could flip back to conservatives next year.