Madison Reporter

Today, the Wisconsin Supreme Court restored the right to use safe and secure ballot drop boxes in the state. The drop boxes were prohibited by the same court in 2022 when the then-conservative majority decided in Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Commission that because state law didn’t explicitly permit drop boxes, they were not allowed. The decision reverses previous rulings and allows localities across the state to once again permit voters to use this method of voting.

“I am so pleased that common sense has prevailed and that Wisconsin now has a high court interested in expanding voting rights rather than restricting them. The decision today affirms the importance of making voting easy and convenient for everyone - older adults, persons with disabilities, families with kids and others who might find it difficult to make it to the polls on election day,” said Mayor Rhodes-Conway. “Absentee voter drop boxes are a safe, secure and convenient way for voters to return their ballot. They are popular with voters of all types and have been successfully implemented by communities across the country for years.”

Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl stated her office will alert the public when absentee ballots drop boxes are operational.

“The Clerk’s Office is in full swing to once again offer drop boxes as a secure option for Madison voters,” said Clerk Witzel-Behl. “The drop boxes won’t be up and running immediately. But we are working quickly.”

During the pandemic, Madison worked diligently to ensure every eligible voter could cast their ballot safely. The Wisconsin State Legislature did not meet or act to assist localities with pandemic-related expenses or processing tens of thousands of absentee ballots which were suddenly in high demand. In response, Madison secured grant funding to help defray costs associated with pandemic elections and installed 14 secure ballot drop boxes near fire stations around the city. The city successfully conducted multiple elections before being forced to shutter these drop boxes, including during the 2020 presidential election where 528 drop boxes were used across 66 Wisconsin counties according to Wisconsin PBS.

The City anticipates that secure ballot drop boxes will be available starting with the Aug. 13 primary election.

The July 8, 2022 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision banning drop boxes received national headlines as part of a series of voter restrictions transforming Wisconsin from one of the easier states to vote in into one of the hardest.

Knowing future courts might reach different verdicts, Madison chose not to discard but instead cover its ballot drop boxes with words from Sojourner Truth and artwork by internationally known artist Jenny Holzer.

“Rather than removing these secure ballot drop boxes, we wanted to transform them to share powerful words from Sojourner Truth and convey our community’s belief in democracy, voting rights, and truth,” said Mayor Rhodes-Conway at that time.

In 2020, artist Jenny Holzer contributed her work for the YOUVOTE campaign; Madison participated by sharing her work on kiosks, banners, murals, and mobile billboards. After the court's decision against ballot drops box usage, Madison approached Holzer about redeploying Sojourner Truth quotes highlighted during this campaign which she consented to participate.