Wisconsin mayor who removed ballot drop box ahead of 2024 elections won’t be charged
MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) — A Wisconsin mayor I took away a mailbox The defendant, who is scheduled to vote absentee before any votes are cast in the 2024 election, will not face any charges, a special prosecutor announced Wednesday.
Wausau Mayor Doug Diny poses for photos wearing a hard hat and work gloves as he removes a delivery box from outside city hall in September 2024. City workers had not yet unlocked the box, but voters had begun receiving absentee ballots, according to Kaitlyn Bernarde, the city’s elections clerk.
The move has become a flashpoint for communities in the swing state of Wisconsin over whether they should be allowed to drop off ballots. Diny returned the box a week after Bernarde raised questions about election integrity. The mayor denied any wrongdoing, saying the box was not secured to the ground and anyone could have stolen it, so he decided to secure it at City Hall.
The city’s ethics board ruled in October 2024 that Diny violated Wausau’s ethics policy. A state Department of Justice investigation found no basis for the accusations.
Wausau’s mayor is an officially nonpartisan position, but Diny campaigned against absentee drop boxes and received Republican support during his candidacy.
Republican Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney, who is running against Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul in the November 2026 election. started another research He serves as a special prosecutor. Toney said Wednesday that he could not prove any accusations beyond a reasonable doubt. He noted that Wisconsin law prohibits breaking a ballot box and tampering with ballots contained in the ballot box, but the ballot box Diny was carrying remained sealed and contained no ballots.
Toney also said the drop boxes do not meet the definition of a ballot box because they are designed as a place to store many city supplies, including ballots and payments. He cited the Wisconsin Elections Commission as saying ballot drop boxes were used at the polling place instead of returning ballots.
Diny did not immediately respond to email and voicemail messages seeking comment on Toney’s conclusions.
