Wisconsin

Wisconsin election officials tell clerks best ways to operate absentee ballot drop boxes

Published

2 years ago

July 12, 2024

Wisconsin election officials tell clerks best ways to operate absentee ballot drop boxes

The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a set of best practices to ensure the security of unstaffed absentee ballot drop boxes that the state Supreme Court last week ruled could be installed for the fall elections.

The use of drop boxes became a partisan issue after Donald Trump lost to President Joe Biden in Wisconsin by just under 21,000 votes in 2020. Wisconsin is once again expected to be one of the few swing states this year, heightening attention to voting rules.

Since his defeat, Trump and Republicans have alleged that drop boxes in Wisconsin facilitated cheating, even though they offered no credible evidence. Democrats, election officials and some Republicans argued the boxes are secure. An Associated Press survey of state election officials across the U.S. revealed no cases of fraud, vandalism or theft that could have affected the results in 2020.

The best practices approved Thursday, to be distributed to the state’s 1,800 local officials who administer elections, detail ways to make drop boxes and surrounding areas safe, well-lit and accessible to voters. The guidance also encourages clerks to empty drop boxes before they get full.

The guidance does not specify that the boxes be emptied on any type of regular interval. It also says recording when the drop box is emptied, who did it and how many ballots are retrieved is encouraged.

The guidance also recommends that the drop boxes be clearly marked and that any damage be documented and inspected to ensure the box can be safely used. Clerks were also encouraged to communicate to voters the locations of drop boxes and when the last ballot retrieval date will be.

The guidance for clerks is just that. The best practices are not mandatory.

The commission opted not to adopt an emergency rule, which carries the weight of law, and instead issued the guidance to clerks which is in response to questions that came in the wake of the court’s ruling last week.

The commission wanted to move quickly to explain the impact of the court’s ruling that allows for the use of unstaffed drop boxes in all future elections, including the Aug. 13 primary and Nov. 5 presidential election.

Drop boxes had been used for years in Wisconsin, but their popularity exploded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 40% of Wisconsin voters casting mail ballots, a record high.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2022, then controlled by conservatives, ruled in favor of a conservative law firm that challenged the use of unstaffed drop boxes outside of clerk offices, such as near libraries and other public spaces. The court ruled that drop boxes can only be located at offices staffed by election clerks, not at remote, unstaffed locations.

Liberals brought a new challenge after the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped to liberal control last year. The court last week overturned the 2022 ruling and once again allowed the use of absentee ballot drop boxes.

Drop boxes were used in 39 other states during the 2022 election, according to the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Football’s Transfer Class Surges in Updated Rankings

Published

12 hours ago

May 21, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin Football’s Transfer Class Surges in Updated Rankings

Spring practice has wrapped up across the country, and college football has officially entered its quiet period of summer doldrums.

However, the mass influx of new intel on transfers gleaned from spring ball means top recruiting sites 247Sports and On3/Rivals have updated their national transfer portal rankings, and the Badgers’ class has gained more respect from both services since the initial transfer boom in the winter.

Wisconsin’s 2026 transfer haul currently checks in at No. 15 in the country on On3/Rivals, up slightly from its perch at No. 18 this winter. That’s good enough for third in the Big Ten behind UCLA (No. 11) and Indiana (No. 1).

247Sports sees the Badgers’ class a little differently; they’ve awarded Wisconsin with the No. 38-ranked class in the nation. That checks in at ninth in the Big Ten. Still, the outlet has bumped its individual ratings for several of the Badgers’ incoming transfers.

After initially not having signed a four-star transfer portal prospect in the eyes of 247Sports, the site has bumped quarterback Colton Joseph, running back Abu Sama and safety Marvin Burks Jr. to four-star transfer prospects, giving the Badgers three blue-chip portal players. Center Austin Kawecki was also bumped to a high three-star portal prospect.

On3, meanwhile, sees Wisconsin with just one four-star portal prospect in the Iowa State transfer tailback Sama.

It’s interesting to note that On3’s transfer portal grading system evaluates all of Wisconsin’s portal movement, additions and departures combined. 247Sports’ system is less additive and only evaluates teams based on how it ranks their newcomers.

Why it matters

New Wisconsin running back Abu Sama III. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this day and age, programs have no choice but to deftly navigate the transfer portal if they want any shot at success. That doesn’t always mean you need to add over 30 signees, like Wisconsin did, but it’s a good sign that the Badgers are gaining recognition for one of the most important aspects of roster building.

Wisconsin is going to be a team largely fueled by mercenaries this season. I’d expect the vast majority of the Badgers’ production, especially on offense where new faces at quarterback, running back, tight end and receiver figure to dominate reps.

The Badgers still have a solid core of home-grown players, namely their two studs at inside linebacker and a handful of key cogs along the offensive line. After all, they rank 35th nationally in returning production; the cupboard isn’t entirely bare.

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Wisconsin

Community rallies for performance of "A Mother of a Revolution"

Published

1 day ago

May 21, 2026

Press Room

Community rallies for performance of "A Mother of a Revolution"

Community members and supporters pack Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church and the outside areas for the community performance of “A Mother of a Revolution” on May 20, 2026 in Watertown, Wisconsin. Composer Omar Thomas even traveled from Texas to conduct the performance of his song.

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Wisconsin

Sonja Henning voted most-impactful Wisconsin high school girls basketball player

Published

2 days ago

May 20, 2026

Press Room

Sonja Henning voted most-impactful Wisconsin high school girls basketball player

On May 14, we debuted the third in a series of reader polls asking who you consider the best high school girls basketball players in Wisconsin history, with 10 primary suggestions. We received nearly 1,800 votes, and here’s how people voted:

Sonja Henning voted as most impactful player in Wisconsin high school girls basketball history

Former Racine Horlick standout Sonja Henning was the reader’s choice for the best girls basketball player in state history after receiving 608 votes.

The lightning-quick Henning, a Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee in 2010, scored 2,236 points as a four-year starter at Horlick. When her high school career ended in 1987, she was the leading girls scorer in state history.

Henning was a two-time first-team all-state pick and the state’s Ms. Basketball winner in 1987, when she also made the Parade All-America team.

She continued her basketball career at Stanford, helping the Cardinal to the 1990 national championship and earning All-America honors as a senior.

After leaving Stanford, she played in several professional leagues before joining the WNBA and helping the Houston Comets win the league title in 1999. She spent most of the next three seasons with the Seattle Storm before ending her WNBA career in 2003 with the Indiana Fever.

While Henning was the top choice, she wasn’t the only popular one.

Here’s how you voted.