Wisconsin's dropbox ban and absentee ballot rules are being challenged with a lawsuit ahead of Supreme Court flipping liberal

MADISON - A national Democratic law firm focused on election issues is challenging new restrictions on absentee voting in Wisconsin just two weeks before the state Supreme Court flips to liberal control.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday by the Elias Law Group on behalf of two liberal-leaning organizations and a Dane County man, will likely determine whether high-profile voting decisions from the current ideological makeup of the state Supreme Court ruling will be overturned before the 2024 presidential election.

In July 2022, the state Supreme Court in a 4-3 ruling banned voters from using drop boxes to return absentee ballots. In September, a Waukesha County judge banned election clerks to fill in missing address information on absentee ballots. The lawsuit filed Thursday seeks to undo both rules.

It also challenges the Election Day deadline to correct errors on absentee ballots. Under current state law, ballots must be corrected by 8 p.m. on the day of an election or the votes will not be counted.

"Absentee voting has long been an important part of Wisconsin elections. As far back as the Civil War, Wisconsinites have been able to exercise the right to vote by casting an absentee ballot; indeed, Wisconsin was one of the few states to uphold absentee voting for Union soldiers fighting in that war," the complaint said.

"Despite the long pedigrees of both absentee voting and constitutionally protected voting rights in Wisconsin, the legislature has improperly erected multiple barriers to absentee voting that make it unnecessarily difficult for many Wisconsin electors to cast ballots and that disenfranchise many qualified voters based on mere technical violations of unnecessary rules."

The lawsuit was filed against the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which issues guidance to election clerks, on behalf of Priorities USA, Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, and William Franks Jr. of Waunakee.

The lawsuit comes 12 days before liberal Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz is set to take a seat on the state Supreme Court, flipping control of the court from conservatives. While not assured, the new ideological control of the court gives liberals a chance at reversing recent ballot-related decisions conservatives pursued ahead of the last major elections in Wisconsin.

Perhaps the most high-profile decision targeted is a ruling that said absentee ballots could no longer be returned via drop box. The longstanding practice was challenged after the use of drop boxes proliferated during the coronavirus pandemic and was heavily criticized by former President Donald Trump, who alleged with no evidence that absentee voting was rife with fraud and led to his reelection loss in 2020.

Writing for the majority, Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley said state law does not permit drop boxes anywhere other than election clerk offices and only state lawmakers may make new policy stating otherwise — not the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which issued guidance to clerks allowing them.

"WEC's staff may have been trying to make voting as easy as possible during the pandemic, but whatever their motivations, WEC must follow Wisconsin statutes. Good intentions never override the law," Bradley wrote.

The lawsuit agues drop boxes "are critical for voters — including the Alliance’s members and constituents — who are unable to vote in person because of disability, scheduling conflicts, lack of transportation, or other hardship."

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's dropbox ban, absentee ballot rules challenged in lawsuit