Wis­con­sin Repub­li­cans tell vot­ers not to fear Supreme Court deci­sion expect­ed to over­turn vot­ing law

Repub­li­cans are switch­ing gears on bal­lot box­es in Wis­con­sin as the state’s Supreme Court looks keen on rein­stat­ing them. 
In 2022, the then-right-lean­ing court ruled the use of bal­lot drop box­es in most cir­cum­stances was unlaw­ful because they were not account­ed for in any exist­ing Wis­con­sin law. Now, a new left-lean­ing Wis­con­sin Supreme Court is hear­ing a case that would reverse that rul­ing and rein­state the box­es. 
“We have to deal with the law the way it is, not the way we wish it was or the way we hoped it would be some­day,” Wis­con­sin GOP Chair­man Bri­an Schim­ming said. “We have to deal with things as they are, not maybe how we wish they were some­times, and that’s going to apply to drop box­es.”

A for­mer absen­tee bal­lot drop box has been trans­formed into a pro-democ­ra­cy piece of art, Oct. 25, 2022, in Madi­son, Wis­con­sin. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

This move toward accept­ing ear­ly and absen­tee bal­lots, a prac­tice that has been around since at least the 1990s in many states, could be a sign that Repub­li­cans nation­al­ly are warm­ing to the idea of their base using the vot­ing method. 
For­mer Pres­i­dent Don­ald Trump has repeat­ed­ly …