{"id":2292418,"date":"2024-07-11T06:13:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T10:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-gop-prepares-for-return-of-ballot-drop-boxes\/"},"modified":"2024-07-11T06:17:32","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T10:17:32","slug":"wisconsin-gop-prepares-for-return-of-ballot-drop-boxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-gop-prepares-for-return-of-ballot-drop-boxes\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin GOP Prepares For Return Of Ballot Drop Boxes"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwisconsin-gop-prepares-for-return-of-ballot-drop-boxes%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2292418&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Republican Party in Wisconsin is facing \u2064legal \u200dchallenges after the state Supreme Court allowed the\u200d use of unattended absentee ballot drop boxes in the upcoming election. Despite the ruling, conservatives argue \u2063that the law does not permit such boxes. The GOP \u2064is\u2062 exploring legal options, but \u200cwith limited time before the primary elections, they are \u200bfocusing on recruiting poll\u200b workers and watchers\u2062 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/progressive-policies-need-to-be-fought-off-by-states-rep-steube\/\" title=\"Progressive Policies Need to Be Fought Off by States: Rep. Steube\">ensure election integrity<\/a>. Democrats in Milwaukee have already reinstated drop boxes,\u200d citing them as a safe and secure option for \u2062voters. The use of drop boxes\u2064 in the 2020 elections was funded by the Center for Tech &#038; Civic \u200cLife, raising concerns about outside influence in local elections. Republican efforts to monitor the upcoming elections are in full swing in anticipation of a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>As the GOP makes final preparations for its big Republican party next week in Milwaukee, conservatives in critical swing state Wisconsin are considering their legal options in the wake of a direct assault on election integrity. <\/p>\n<h2>Boxed In<\/h2>\n<p>On Friday, the left-led Wisconsin Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/leftists-get-what-they-paid-for-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-flip-flop-allowing-ballot-drop-boxes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reversed a previous court ruling<\/a> and endorsed the widespread use of unattended absentee ballot drop boxes in November\u2019s election. The ruling opens the door to the same kind of election shenanigans that plagued the Badger State in 2020. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur decision today does not force or require that any municipal clerks use drop boxes. It merely acknowledges what [state statute] has always meant: that clerks may <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-supreme-court-hands-democrats-a-swing-state-win-reverses-ballot-drop-box-order\/\" title=\"Wisconsin Supreme Court Hands Democrats a Swing State Win, Reverses Ballot Drop Box Order\">lawfully utilize secure drop boxes<\/a> in an exercise of their statutorily-conferred discretion,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wicourts.gov\/sc\/opinion\/DisplayDocument.pdf?content=pdf&#038;seqNo=822752\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4-3 ruling<\/a> states. <\/p>\n<p>But state statute, as conservative Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley argues in her stinging dissent, does no such thing. Bradley was in the conservative majority just two years ago when the court ruled that the widespread use of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/french-election-upset-should-remind-gop-not-to-be-complacent\/\" title=\"French Election Upset Should Remind GOP Not To Be Complacent\">unattended absentee drop boxes violated state law<\/a>. At the time, Bradley wrote for the majority that the statute clearly states that an \u201cabsentee ballot must be returned by mail or the voter must personally deliver it to the municipal clerk at the clerk\u2019s office or a designated alternate site.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wicourts.gov\/sc\/opinion\/DisplayDocument.pdf?content=pdf&#038;seqNo=822752\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dissent<\/a> to last week\u2019s ruling, the justice wrote that the new <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/leftists-get-what-they-paid-for-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-flip-flop-allowing-ballot-drop-boxes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bought-and-paid-for leftist majority<\/a> \u201cforsakes the rule of law in an attempt to advance its political agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Appeal Route\u2019 <\/h2>\n<p>Republican Party of Wisconsin (RPW) Chairman Brian Schimming certainly agrees with Bradley\u2019s assessment. He told me this week that the GOP\u2019s attorneys are exploring their legal options, whether there are any routes of appeal. But timing is everything when it comes to politics \u2014 and the law.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201c[The Supreme Court] waited until it was way late in the process \u2026 so even if we did happen to have an appeal route we wouldn\u2019t have a decision until at least before the August primary,\u201d Schimming said. <\/p>\n<p>The Wisconsin Institute for Law &#038; Liberty, which filed the initial lawsuit challenging the Wisconsin Elections Commission\u2019s guidance allowing unmanned drop boxes during Covid, is also considering its legal options, Nathalie Burmeister, associate attorney for the Milwaukee-based law firm, told me. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur position is, it\u2019s a policy decision that should be left up to the legislature, not the judicial branch,\u201d she said. \u201cThe law should be followed as to what it says, and the law does not provide for [unmanned absentee ballot drop boxes].\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Pleased About the Recent Announcement\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>But Schimming and his fellow Republicans don\u2019t have any time to sit around and grouse about the decision. With less than four months to go before the presumed 2020 rematch of Donald Trump and Joe Biden and control of Congress on the line, Schimming said Republicans will have to play the hand they\u2019ve been dealt. <\/p>\n<p>He said the state party is rolling out an army of poll workers and watchers to monitor this year\u2019s elections. The Republican Party of Wisconsin has recruited some 5,500 poll workers statewide, the most successful recruitment effort in the party\u2019s history, Schimming said. He expects to bring in another 2,000 observers, some of them positioned at drop boxes. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re recruiting 100,000 volunteers all across the country,\u201d Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said Tuesday at an election integrity rally in Waukesha. \u201cWe want 5,000 of them here in Wisconsin, and we want to make sure that we are in the room whenever a vote is being cast and a vote is being counted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Biden claimed a razor-thin victory in Wisconsin in 2020, winning by some 20,000 votes.  <\/p>\n<p>Milwaukee, Wisconsin\u2019s largest city and one of two mega Democrat voting centers in the Badger State, quickly moved to reinstate drop boxes following the Supreme Court ruling. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are pleased about the recent announcement from the state Supreme Court to give cities the discretion to utilize drop boxes,\u201d Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Guti\u00e9rrez <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/07\/05\/milwaukees-will-reopen-absentee-ballot-drop-boxes-what-to-know\/74310534007\/\">told<\/a> the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. \u201cThis is just another opportunity for us to provide a safe and secure way for people to drop off their absentee ballots here to the City of Milwaukee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMilwaukee installed 15 unstaffed ballot drop boxes\u201d in 2020, paid for by $70,000 in grants from the leftist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/02\/14\/zuckbucks-2-0-recipients-turn-down-money-after-leftist-nonprofit-fails-transparency-test\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Tech &#038; Civic Life<\/a> (CTCL), the publication reported. Chicago-based CTCL received hundreds of millions of dollars from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife, Priscilla Chan, to fund local election administration under the cover of the pandemic. As The Federalist has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/07\/mollie-hemingway-breaks-down-everything-wrong-with-u-s-elections-from-mail-in-ballots-to-zuckbucks-to-censorship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">extensively reported<\/a>, the brunt of \u201cZuckbucks\u201d went to Democrat-led cities in battleground states like Wisconsin. Emails show liberal groups embedded in local elections offices, including a longtime Democratic Party operative who was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/03\/10\/how-mark-zuckerbergs-election-money-helped-an-out-of-state-democrat-get-his-hands-on-wisconsins-2020-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">given<\/a> the keys to the room where absentee ballots were stored in Green Bay. <\/p>\n<p>Wisconsin voters in <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/05\/in-opposite-day-logic-usa-today-breathlessly-defends-zuckerbucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">April<\/a> approved a ballot question banning the use of private funding in election administration. <\/p>\n<p>Milwaukee is ready to redeploy some of the fruits of the Zuckbucks largesse. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDrop boxes that were struck by vehicles at the Election Commission warehouse at 1901 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and at the Washington Park Library, 2121 N. Sherman Blvd., are being evaluated and possibly replaced,\u201d the Journal Sentinel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/07\/05\/milwaukees-will-reopen-absentee-ballot-drop-boxes-what-to-know\/74310534007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018We Use Them or Lose\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The Republican National Committee and its presidential nominee have changed their tune on the use of early and absentee voting and ballot harvesting. They are now touting the same tools Democrats have for years successfully used to rake in ballots.<\/p>\n<p>Schimming said the Wisconsin party will adapt on drop boxes, as well. When asked if the RPW would push drop box usage, the chairman said, \u201cYes.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat might sound like a strange thing coming out of the state Republican Party chairman, but remember, we did have drop boxes in the \u201914 and \u201916 elections in Wisconsin,\u201d he said. \u201cAre they desirable? No. Do I think they should be illegal? Yes. But as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-governor-after-censure-vote-state-party-should-focus-on-winning-races\/\" title=\"Arizona Governor After Censure Vote: State Party Should \u2018Focus On Winning Races\u2019\">state party chair<\/a> I have to deal with reality, not what I wish reality was. I could spend my time between now and the first Tuesday in November complaining about drop boxes, but if that\u2019s going to be the law, we use them or lose.\u201d <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the GOP prepares for its Republican party in Milwaukee, conservatives in Wisconsin are exploring legal options after a court ruling allowed the use of unattended absentee ballot drop boxes. The ruling has raised concerns about election integrity and potential shenanigans. Despite dissent from conservative justices, the decision stands, prompting Republicans to focus on recruiting poll workers and watchers to monitor the upcoming elections. The use of drop boxes, previously funded by outside sources, is now being embraced by Republicans as they adapt to the current legal landscape<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2292419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-10-at-11.59.10-AM-1024x461.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[34620,6571,6203,4351,4124],"class_list":["post-2292418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ballot-drop-boxes","tag-elections","tag-gop","tag-voting","tag-wisconsin"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-10-at-11.59.10-AM-1024x461.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2292418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2292419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2292418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2292418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2292418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}