WEBVTT 00:02.066 --> 00:05.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: Another court decision that could impact the 2024 presidential election, 00:06.333 --> 00:08.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% this time from the state Supreme Court in Wisconsin. 00:08.433 --> 00:11.366 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Our Lisa Desjardins has more. 00:11.366 --> 00:16.300 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% LISA DESJARDINS: In a 4-3 decision, the new liberal majority on Wisconsin's Supreme Court 00:16.300 --> 00:21.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% today reversed a near-total ban on the use of ballot drop boxes in elections there. 00:23.233 --> 00:26.633 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% In 2020, President Biden won Wisconsin by one of the smallest margins in the country. 00:28.700 --> 00:31.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Restoring this voting method could have major implications for this year's election. 00:31.666 --> 00:35.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Following this all closely is Zac Schultz with PBS Wisconsin. 00:35.666 --> 00:40.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Zac, tell us what the court decided. And is this the final word before the election? 00:40.533 --> 00:42.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% ZAC SCHULTZ, PBS Wisconsin: It is the final word before the election. 00:42.733 --> 00:47.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The liberal majority here by 4-3 overturned only a 2-year-old case. It was called the Teigen 00:49.633 --> 00:53.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% case. And in 2022, then the conservative majority in a pretty fractured decision, 00:55.500 --> 00:58.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% with only finding a consensus on a handful of paragraphs, enough to essentially say Wisconsin 01:00.966 --> 01:03.733 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% state law did not explicitly allow absentee ballot drop boxes and, therefore, they weren't allowed. 01:05.966 --> 01:09.033 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% In the dissent, the liberals at that time said they got it wrong. This is their chance to redo 01:09.033 --> 01:12.900 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% it. They took the case. Throughout this process, the conservatives had signaled 01:12.900 --> 01:16.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% in all their dissenting opinions that they knew this outcome. It was preordained. They 01:16.366 --> 01:20.233 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% have been taking shots at the liberals, saying they're just running policy for the Democrats. 01:20.233 --> 01:24.800 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% But it's a big decision and it clears things up for Wisconsin's municipal clerks in 01:24.800 --> 01:29.233 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% advance of our August primary and the November elections, so they know how this will play out. 01:29.233 --> 01:32.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% LISA DESJARDINS: As you say, this is a complete flip from the conservative court 01:32.033 --> 01:36.866 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% just over a year ago. And this could affect an enormous amount of ballots. 01:36.866 --> 01:41.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% According to a Pew survey in 2020, some 40 percent of early votes were 01:41.900 --> 01:46.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% cast using these ballot drop boxes. Do we know, does the presence of these boxes, 01:48.700 --> 01:52.733 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% as we now will expect in Wisconsin, does that benefit one party or the other? 01:52.733 --> 01:56.533 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% ZAC SCHULTZ: Well, Republicans, and especially in the wake of Donald Trump's election conspiracy, 01:56.533 --> 01:59.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% tried to say that it was about Democrats and Democratic fraud. 01:59.533 --> 02:03.133 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% But the fact is, these were used in most counties, including red counties, 02:03.133 --> 02:07.633 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% rural areas, places that supported Trump and conservatives. And we're expecting 02:07.633 --> 02:11.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% some of these to go back. In fact, it may benefit those areas more, because, 02:11.600 --> 02:16.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% if a local clerk doesn't have regular office hours, someone can simply drop off a ballot, 02:16.133 --> 02:20.700 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% especially if the mail isn't quite consistent running up to Election Day. 02:20.700 --> 02:24.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So we expect them to come back. Madison and Milwaukee have already announced they will be 02:24.233 --> 02:28.866 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% open and ready. They really never removed their boxes in the first place, but more areas around 02:28.866 --> 02:33.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% the state. It will be a locality decision to decide how they come back into play. 02:33.033 --> 02:37.066 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% LISA DESJARDINS: As you say, this was a part of conspiracy theories and some of the lies about the 02:37.066 --> 02:42.066 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% 2020 election, but on a more basic level, what do we know about how secure these ballot boxes are? 02:43.533 --> 02:45.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% ZAC SCHULTZ: Well, we know that, in Madison, for example, 02:45.600 --> 02:49.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% they're located outside police stations, fire departments. There are cameras nearby 02:49.866 --> 02:54.466 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% so they can monitor them. They're dropped -- they're locked. They only have certain access. 02:54.466 --> 02:57.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% So, in some respects, they are more secure than your mailbox, 02:57.933 --> 03:01.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% where, in Wisconsin, it's perfectly legal to place your absentee ballot 03:01.466 --> 03:05.800 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% to be mailed back. So it has the same security that you would expect anywhere. 03:05.800 --> 03:09.500 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% LISA DESJARDINS: This was an enormous decision, but can you take us more broadly as we finish up 03:09.500 --> 03:14.500 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% into the state politics surrounding your Supreme Court and what decisions and issues can be ahead? 03:16.600 --> 03:19.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% ZAC SCHULTZ: Well, the biggest one is just this week that same liberal majority announced they 03:19.700 --> 03:24.700 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% will revisit Wisconsin's abortion ban and that law that was -- dates back to 1849. 03:26.833 --> 03:29.466 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% They're taking two cases on that, one which would just examine whether to overturn the law, 03:29.466 --> 03:34.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and the second, much more broadly, would look at whether there is a constitutional right 03:34.066 --> 03:38.533 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% to abortion and health care abortion services in Wisconsin's Constitution. 03:38.533 --> 03:43.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The way that it's being set for briefings, they will be ready for oral arguments in the fall, 03:43.500 --> 03:46.666 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% so that brings up the possibility that that decision could come down 03:46.666 --> 03:49.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% some -- before the end of the year, maybe by Election Day. 03:49.833 --> 03:54.533 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% LISA DESJARDINS: Zac Schultz with PBS Wisconsin, thank you for covering this all. And we will be 03:54.533 --> 03:58.133 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% seeing you soon at the Republican Convention coming up in Milwaukee in just over a week. 03:58.133 --> 03:59.333 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% ZAC SCHULTZ: And can't wait to see you.