This fall, you may have another way to cast your ballot as absentee primary ballots arrive in people’s mailboxes. On Friday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court voted 4-3 along ideological lines to allow drop boxes to be used for the fall elections. According to the Associated Press, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wrote that “placing a ballot in a drop box set up and maintained by a local election clerk is no different than giving the ballot to the clerk.” In the dissenting opinion, Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote that reversing the 2022 decision to limit their use was not done because “it is legally erroneous, but because the majority finds it politically inconvenient.” Common Cause Wisconsin Executive Director Jay Heck says it is a great decision for all of the state’s voters but reminds them that it does not necessarily mean that every municipality will suddenly put a drop box back out for people to use.

The decision was not the only one made by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court also ruled 6-1 in the case of Evers vs. Marklein, which charged the Republican-led Wisconsin Legislature with obstructing parts of the Governor’s actions, such as releasing funding for the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program for land grants and Wisconsin Act 20 for literacy education.