Conservative group challenges ballot drop boxes

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A nonprofit conservative law firm filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin on Monday that challenges the state’s use of absentee ballot drop boxes.

The suit filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court by Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty argues against the state Elections Commission’s interpretation that ballot drop boxes can be unstaffed, temporary or permanent.

The institute is asking the court to allow absentee ballots to be cast only by mail or in-person delivery to a municipal clerk, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

Absentee ballot boxes and community ballot collecting initiatives were widely used during the November election and clerks made use of drop boxes during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide more return options for the high number of absentee voters,

The practice was challenged in unsuccessful lawsuits filed with state and federal courts by former President Donald Trump and others challenging President Joe Biden’s win in the state.