Ballot Drop Box Battles: States, Municipalities Seek to Ban Them as November Election Nears

Drop Box Sign

Two months out from Election Day and less than two weeks before early voting begins, states and municipalities are fighting over whether to implement ballot drop boxes, amid election integrity and practical concerns.

Ballot drop boxes, a method of voting that became more widespread during the 2020 presidential election as COVID-19 lockdowns continued, are facing a pushback in several municipalities and states ahead of the November election.

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Democratic Law Firm Argues Mail Boxes ‘Unsecure’ for Voting, in Wisconsin Suit Pushing for Ballot Drop Boxes

In a lawsuit to overturn a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that concluded ballot drop boxes are illegal, a Democratic election law firm is now arguing that U.S. Postal Service mailboxes are in fact “unsecured.”

The state’s high court ruled last year, in a 4-3 decision, the Wisconsin Elections Commission was not authorized to allow the use of the such boxes, as alternative balloting, during the 2020 presidential election.

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Wisconsin School Policy Hiding Students’ Gender Identity from Parents Can Continue, Court Finds

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that a school policy allowing students to secretly change their pronouns at school could remain in place.

In a 4-3 ruling, the state’s supreme court denied an injunction against the policy on procedural grounds because the plaintiffs were anonymous, allowing the gender identity policy to continue, the court’s opinion said. The final decision on the policy will be sent back to a circuit court.

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Trump Says January 6 Probe No Big Deal, Lawmakers Should Investigate the November 3 ‘Insurrection’

Former President Donald Trump says he’s not concerned by the prospect of his former advisers testifying before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

Lawmakers, Trump argued, should instead investigate the “insurrection” that changed last year’s election rules and committee chairman Bennie Thompson’s ties to a black separatist group whose members killed cops decades ago.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down Mask Mandate by Democratic Governor Evers

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has struck down Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide mask mandate as a coronavirus health-safety measure.

In a 4-3 vote on Wednesday, the court decided Evers had violated state law by unilaterally issuing emergency orders to enforce the mandates without legislative approval, according to the Associated Press.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down Evers’ Safer-at-Home Restrictions

A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ extended safer at home order Wednesday, siding with Republicans who claimed the governor overstepped his authority when his administration extended restrictions on individuals and businesses through May 26.

In the 4-3 decision, all but one of the court’s conservative members ruled that the Evers’ administration does not have the legal power to continuously extend restrictions in the name of trying to slow the spread of COVID-19.

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