2 Waukesha County communities vote to ban ballot drop boxes

Two Waukesha County municipalities have decided to prevent residents from using absentee ballot drop boxes in the upcoming presidential election. The decision comes after the Wisconsin Supreme Court last month overturned a near-total ban on the use of absentee ballot drop boxes in the state.

Brookfield Common Councillast week voted against allowing residents to use the city's utility payment drop box outside City Hall for absentee ballots. Last month, New Berlin took a similar step.

Brookfield Alder Mike Hallquist, who voted against the ban, said the council’s decision was disappointing.

“What we did as a community is we brought back a method of voting that made voting more accessible in our community, that was available to us before without any issues,” Hallquist said.

Absentee voting and the use of ballot drop boxes became more popular options for voters during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spring of 2021, the Wisconsin Elections Commission found that 570 drop boxes were being used in 66 of Wisconsin's 72 counties.

But the use of the boxes has also become a highly political issue in recent years. The Wisconsin Supreme Court's conservative majority voted to declare them illegal in 2022. The election of Justice Janet Protasiewicz in 2023 gave the court a liberal majority. In July, the court's four liberal justices voted to overturn the earlier ruling.

Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wrote in the majority opinion that the decision “does not compel or mandate any municipal clerk to use drop boxes.”

Following that ruling, the Wisconsin Elections Commission issued suggestive guidelines for municipal clerks on the use of ballot boxes, stating that ballot boxes should be placed on the ground and in a well-lit area.

“Ideally, unstaffed 24-hour drop boxes should be placed in well-lit areas and monitored by video surveillance cameras,” the guidelines state. “When this isn't possible, placing the box in close proximity to a nearby camera is a good alternative.”

The guidelines state that a “chain of custody” form must be filled out each time a ballot is collected.

In a memo, Brookfield City Attorney Jenna Merten said the city has used utility payment drop boxes as ballot drop boxes before. But the memo also said City Clerk Michelle Luedke and Merten said the city is not required to use drop boxes for this fall’s election.

“We have concluded that although the city can utilize drop boxes, we are not required to do so,” the memo said.

The memo says the COVID-19 pandemic “is no longer the threat to public health that it once was,” and Brookfield has expanded in-person absentee voting options for residents ahead of the election.

“This saves City staff valuable time by eliminating the need to record the drop box chain of custody, maintain camera surveillance, and require staff to take additional security measures for the drop boxes,” the memo states.

Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto said he agrees with the memo and supports the Common Council's decision. He said voters across the state can also return their absentee ballots by mail.

“I believe that everyone who wants to vote in Brookfield and is entitled to vote will have ample opportunity to cast their ballot,” Ponto said.

Berlin's new mayor, Dave Ament, said his city council voted unanimously against the use of drop boxes.

“I think the council made the right decision,” Ament said. “I don't think we need them (ballot boxes).”

Ament said he believes there are enough options to vote early for people who might have trouble getting to a polling station on Election Day. He also said the city's ballot box is small and workers must empty it several times a day.

Some Brookfield residents protested the council's decision before the vote. They included Julie Barish, who has an adult daughter with disabilities and who has difficulty voting in person.

“She deserves the human dignity of being able to use the ballot box and cast her vote,” Burish said.

Brookfield Alder Sarah Monti, who has worked in elections before, voted against the ban because she said the city should make it easier for more people to vote.

“It's very disappointing and goes against everything we're supposed to stand for,” Monti said.

Nick Ramos, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said the decisions by both communities are concerning to him.

“They (drop boxes) are safe,” Ramos said. “They're a tool to help people who really need them, like the elderly, the disabled, single parents. … People want to be able to use drop boxes and they're not using them in nefarious ways.”