Wisconsin

Wisconsin Supreme Court changes course, will allow expanded use of ballot drop boxes this fall

Published

2 years ago

July 5, 2024

Wisconsin Supreme Court changes course, will allow expanded use of ballot drop boxes this fall

Madison, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that officials can place ballot drop boxes around their communities in this fall’s elections, overturning its own ruling two years ago limiting their use in the presidential swing state.

The court limited the use of drop boxes in July 2022, ruling then that they could be placed only in local election clerks’ offices and no one other than the voter could return a ballot in person.

Conservatives controlled the court at that time, but Janet Protasiewicz’s election victory in April 2023 flipped the court to liberal control. Seeing an opening, Priorities USA, a progressive voter mobilization group, asked the court in February to revisit the decision.

At least 29 other states allow for absentee ballot drop boxes, according to the U.S. Vote Foundation, and expanded use in Wisconsin could have major implications in the presidential race.

Wisconsin again figures to be a crucial swing state after President Joe Biden barely won it in 2020 and Donald Trump narrowly took it in 2016. Democrats believe that making it easier to vote absentee will boost turnout for their side.

The justices announced in March they would review the ban on drop boxes but wouldn’t consider any other parts of the case. The move drew the ire of the court’s conservatives, who accused the liberals of trying to give Democrats an advantage this fall. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in April urged the court to again allow drop boxes.

The court ruled 4-3 on Friday that drop boxes can be utilized in any location.

Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, one of the court’s four liberal justices, wrote for the majority that placing a ballot in a drop box set up and maintained by a local election clerk is no different than giving the ballot to the clerk, regardless of the box’s location. Local clerks have great discretion in how they administer elections and that extends to using and locating drop boxes, she added.

“Our decision today does not force or require that any municipal clerks use drop boxes,” Bradley wrote. “It merely acknowledges what (state law) has always meant: that clerks may lawfully utilize secure drop boxes in an exercise of their statutorily-conferred discretion.”

All three conservative justices dissented. Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote that the liberals are simply trying to advance their political agenda and criticized them for ignoring the precedent set by the 2022 ruling.

“The majority in this case overrules (the 2022 decision) not because it is legally erroneous, but because the majority finds it politically inconvenient,” Bradley wrote. “The majority’s activism marks another triumph of political power over legal principle in this court.”

The popularity of absentee voting exploded during the pandemic in 2020, with more than 40% of all voters casting mail ballots, a record high. At least 500 drop boxes were set up in more than 430 communities for the election that year, including more than a dozen each in Madison and Milwaukee — the state’s two most heavily Democratic cities.

Trump and Republicans have alleged that drop boxes facilitated cheating, even though they offered no evidence. Democrats, election officials and some Republicans argued the boxes are secure and 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.

Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature intervened in the case, arguing that the justices should leave the 2022 ruling alone. Their attorney, Misha Tseytlin, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.

Matt Fisher, a spokesperson for the state Republican Party, called the decision a “setback.”

“This latest attempt by leftist justices to placate their far-left backers will not go unanswered by voters,” he said in a statement.

Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell, who administers elections in the state’s most Democratic county, called drop boxes a “common sense tool.” He said they make the election process more convenient and easier for rural and disabled voters and help reduce that number of ballots that arrive after election day too late to be counted.

“Having drop boxes in place for the 2024 elections in August and November will encourage civic participation in our democracy,” McDonell said in a statement.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin vs. Michigan Game Thread: Can’t let this one slip early

Published

6 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin vs. Michigan Game Thread: Can’t let this one slip early

The Wisconsin Badgers are taking on the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines on the road on Saturday, with tip-off set for 12:00 p.m. at the Crisler Center on CBS.

Wisconsin has seen some ups and downs this season, failing to secure a Quad 1 win through 15 games, as they’ve gone 0-5 in those opportunities. The team did pick up a nice win at home over the UCLA Bruins earlier this week, using a huge start to stay on top 80-72.

That got Wisconsin to 10-5 and added their third Quad 2 win of the season, but no matchup so far will compare to what the Badgers will face against the Michigan Wolverines, who have started 14-0 this season. Michigan has dominated its competition so far. They’ve beaten three ranked teams so far, and the lowest margin of victory in those games was 30 points.

But the Wolverines did face some trouble earlier this week, narrowly beating the 9-6 Penn State Nittany Lions 74-72 on the road.

Heading into Saturday, the Badgers are seen as 19.5-point underdogs, easily their biggest spread of the season as an underdog. Can they find a way to keep this one competitive?

Join us as our game thread is officially open for Saturday’s game!

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Wisconsin

Eli McKown’s rapid reactions from Iowa wrestling victory vs. Wisconsin

Published

18 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Eli McKown’s rapid reactions from Iowa wrestling victory vs. Wisconsin

IOWA CITY — Iowa wrestling rallied to defeat Wisconsin 23-12 in a Big Ten Conference dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes finished with four consecutive wins from 157 to 184, including a pair of pivotal technical falls from Michael Caliendo and Angelo Ferrari.

In the video above, Hawk Central wrestling reporter Eli McKown offers up some instant analysis from Iowa’s victory. Up next, Jan. 16 at home against Penn State.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin teen who killed prison guard in fistfight pleads guilty but claims mental illness

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin teen who killed prison guard in fistfight pleads guilty but claims mental illness

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin teen who killed a prison guard during a fistfight pleaded guilty to homicide Friday but contends he doesn’t deserve prison time because he was mentally ill and not responsible for his actions.

Javarius Hurd, 17, entered a plea of guilty/not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to one count of second-degree reckless homicide in connection with Corey Proulx’s death, online court records show. He also pleaded guilty to one count of battery by a prisoner. Prosecutors dropped a second battery count in exchange for the pleas.

The next step for Hurd will be a February trial in which jurors will determine whether he should be sentenced to prison or committed to a mental institution. Jurors will be asked to determine whether Hurd was indeed suffering from a mental disease at the time of the fight and, if so, whether the mental disease impaired his ability to act within the law.

“Javarius entered into a plea agreement that partially resolves the case involving the sad and tragic death of (Proulx),” Hurd’s attorney, Aaton Nelson, said in an email to The Associated Press. “Javarius, who has had a life filled with trauma and suffering, realizes that nothing will compensate the victims for their loss and suffering. We hope that this agreement will help all those suffering with their healing.”

According to court documents, Hurd was incarcerated at the Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes School, the state’s youth prison in far northern Wisconsin, in June 2024.

He grew upset with a female counselor whom he felt was abusing her powers, threw soap at her and punched her. Hurd ran into the courtyard and Proulx followed to stop him. Hurd punched Proulx several times and Proulx fell, hit his head on the pavement and later died. Hurd was 16 at the time but was charged in adult court.

Another inmate at the youth prison, Rian Nyblom, pleaded guilty to two counts of being a party to battery in connection with the incident and was sentenced to five years in prison this past August.

According to prosecutors, Nyblom knew that Hurd was upset with the female counselor and wanted to splash her with conditioner and punch her. About 15 minutes before the fighting began, he got extra soap and conditioner from guards and secretly gave it to Hurd. Nyblom told investigators that he didn’t see Hurd attack the female counselor but watched as Hurd punched Proulx.

Lincoln Hills-Cooper Lake is Wisconsin’s only youth prison. The facility has been plagued by allegations of staff-on-inmate abuse, including excessive use of pepper spray, restraints and strip searches.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit in 2017 demanding changes at the prison. Then-Gov. Scott Walker’s administration settled the following year by agreeing to a consent decree that prohibited the use of mechanical restraints like handcuffs and the use of pepper spray.

Proulx’s death sparked calls from Republican lawmakers and from Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes staff for more leeway in punishing incarcerated children, but Democratic Gov. Tony Evers rejected those calls, insisting conditions at the prison have been slowly improving. A court-appointed monitor assigned to oversee the prison’s progress reported this past October that the facility was fully compliant with the consent decree’s provisions for the first time.

Legislators have been trying to find a way to close the facility for years and replace with it with smaller regional prisons. Those prisons remain under construction, however, and Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake continues to operate.

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