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Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, on Monday said the fires that burned hundreds of ballots show the danger of unmanned ballot drop boxes.
“Ballot boxes do have risks,” Brandtjen said.
Police in both Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington say someone dropped something inside ballot drop boxes in both cities that sparked fires.
There’s no official count, but election managers in both cities say hundreds of ballots were damaged.
Brandtjen said that’s why she’s fought so hard against unmanned ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin.
“In 2020 in Green Bay, a few hundred ballots were destroyed, because the rain seeped inside the ballot box,” Brandtjen said. “This is why ballots should be given directly to clerks or use the mail.”
Washington County Executive Josh Scheomann said the vandalism in Portland and Vancouver, Washington shows the need for someone to be watching ballot drop boxes around the clock.
“This is exactly the type of thing we were concerned about when we approved funding for security cameras at every drop box,” Schoemann explained. “Any municipalities that have a drop box should learn from this and immediately install proper security.”
Schoemann and Washington County’s board approved $3,000 earlier this month so that any local clerk that is using a ballot drop box can add a surveillance camera. It’s part of a $150,000 election security push in Washington County.
In 2020, more than 430 cities or counties used ballot drop boxes during the presidential election. This year, that numbers is reportedly just 42 communities statewide.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered that drop boxes be allowed, saying essentially that there’s nothing in Wisconsin’s election laws that specifically bans them.
But the court didn’t address any other rules or regulations for ballot drop boxes, their security, or their use.
That silence saw the mayor of Wausau move the city’s ballot drop box from in front of city hall to the basement.
Mayor Doug Diny said he moved the ballot drop box because it wasn’t safe.
Wausau’s clerk has since returned the drop box to in front of city hall.
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