Wisconsin
Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority questions past ruling barring ballot drop boxes
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MADISON, Wisc. — The new liberal majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday questioned its conservative members’ past decision to bar state clerks from using absentee ballot drop boxes in a case that could impact turnout in a key swing state this November.
Wisconsin’s highest court heard arguments Monday in a lawsuit backed by Democrats that seeks to overturn the court’s decision under its previous conservative majority that said state law does not allow drop boxes to be placed outside of an election clerk’s office and another ruling that prohibited clerks from filling in missing address information on absentee ballots.
“What if we just got it wrong?” said Justice Jill Karofsky, one of four members of the court’s liberal majority, referring to the court’s prior decision. “What if we made a mistake? Are we now supposed to just perpetuate that mistake into the future?”
The Wisconsin court in the coming weeks will decide whether to reinstate the use of absentee drop boxes, just before voters are set to cast ballots in the next presidential election featuring a rematch of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by about 21,000 votes four years ago. Since then, Trump has sought to persuade lawmakers and judges to overturn the battleground state’s election result and in doing so, argued ballots returned in drop boxes amounted to voter fraud despite a lack of evidence to support the claim.
Critical tool for elections in 2020. Why are some states limiting drop boxes?
‘Not something you were obviously concerned about at all in 2020’
Ballot drop boxes had been used since the 1980s or 1990s in Wisconsin and other states but exploded in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic — especially in liberal-leaning areas — to help voters cast ballots while limiting interaction with other people.
On Monday, the court’s liberal justices questioned the court’s 2022 decision to ban the boxes, with some arguments focusing on the state Legislature’s past statements of support for their use.
“This was not something you were obviously concerned about at all in 2020 when you said that these boxes were expressly authorized and lawful,” Justice Rebecca Dallet said Monday to an attorney representing Republican legislative leaders, who are in court defending the 2022 ruling outlawing drop boxes against the challenge brought by liberal group Priorities USA and the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Voters.
“At that point in 2020 no one had raised any legal objections to drop boxes,” Misha Tseytlin, an attorney representing the Legislature, said in response.
Conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn questioned why past policy positions mattered to the justices’ work on interpreting the law.
“We’ve had parties change their positions very recently in this court and other people haven’t been troubled by that — why does it matter that the Legislature takes a different view of the statute for us to read the statute faithfully?” Hagedorn said.
Drop boxes and state law
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, some states have added language about drop boxes to state law. Many include standards about how many drop boxes must be available, based on population, or require one per county.
The plaintiff’s arguments amounted to asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to become lawmakers, argued conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley.
“You are asking this court to become a super Legislature and give free rein, despite what the statutes say, give free rein to municipal clerks to conduct elections however they see fit,” she said. “That, counsel, seems to me to be the greater danger to democracy because you’re asking this court to override what the Legislature wrote.”
Critics say drop boxes aren’t laid out in state law and that lawmakers, not the state elections commission, must create rules for them. Supporters say clerks have wide authority and discretion over what tools should be used to administer elections in their communities, an argument at least one liberal justice echoed Monday.
In spring 2021, there were about 570 drop boxes in Wisconsin, according to court filings. Out of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, at least 66 had drop boxes as of spring 2021, PolitiFact Wisconsin noted.
While Republicans have heavily scrutinized the use of drop boxes, they were used widely in Wisconsin, including in conservative areas.
If the Wisconsin court allows expanded use of drop boxes again, some cities with remaining drop box infrastructure may be able to open them back up quickly. Madison City Attorney Michael Haas said, for Madison, it would be a matter of unlocking the box and likely double-checking the video security.
Contributing: Hope Karnopp, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin authorities put total arrests from clashes at beagle breeding facility at about 25
MADISON (AP) — Around 25 protesters were arrested as around 1,000 animal welfare activists tried to gain entry to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin and were met by officers firing pepper spray and rubber bullets, authorities said Sunday.
Saturday’s protest was the second attempt in as many months by demonstrators to take beagles from Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds, about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Madison. They were turned back by officers who arrested the group’s leader.
Owen Ziliak/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office said the situation was “significantly calmer and more peaceful” on Sunday, when around 200 people assembled outside the farm. They dispersed after around two hours, it said.
“We’re pleased with the group’s cooperation today, and their willingness to remain peaceful, while still sending their message of concern for the dogs at Ridglan Farms,” Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a statement. “We are happy to support anyone who wants to exercise the right to protest, as long as they do so lawfully.”
Owen Ziliak/The Wisconsin State Journal via AP
The sheriff had said in a video statement Saturday that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property.” They tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence.
Owen Ziliak/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
Some got through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
Those arrested included the leader of the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs, Wayne Hsiung, 44, of New York, who was being held on a tentative felony charge of conspiracy to commit burglary. But most arrestees were just booked and released, the sheriff’s office said Sunday.
“No one should be assaulted for giving aid to a dog, even if damage to property is part of that rescue effort,” Hsuing said in a statement from jail Sunday that also accused authorities of using excessive force. “The animals of this Earth are not “things.” They’re sentient beings. And we have the right to rescue them from abuse,” he concluded.
Protesters took 30 dogs when they broke into the facility in March, when authorities arrested 27 people.
Ridglan denies mistreating animals but agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 in a deal to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges.
On its website, the company says “no credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated.”
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About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
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