Wisconsin mayor carts away absentee ballot drop box, says he did nothing wrong

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The mayor of a central Wisconsin city who ran for office on his opposition to absentee ballot drop boxes said Wednesday he did nothing wrong when he put on work gloves, donned a hard hat and used a dolly to cart away a drop box outside City Hall.

Wausau Mayor Doug Diny posed for a picture Sunday to memorialize his removal of the city’s lone drop box that had been put outside City Hall around the same time late last week that absentee ballots were sent to voters.

“This is no different than the maintenance guy moving it out there,” Diny said Wednesday. “I’m a member of staff. There’s nothing nefarious going on here. I’m hoping for a good result.”

The move, which sparked a protest in the city Tuesday night and anger among drop box advocates, is the latest example in swing state Wisconsin of the fight over whether communities will allow absentee ballot drop boxes.

Several Republican-run municipalities, including six in Milwaukee County, two in Waukesha County and three in Dodge County, have opted against using drop boxes for the presidential election in November, while they are being embraced in heavily Democratic cities including Milwaukee and Madison.

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