MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin mayor who carted away a drop box intended for absentee ballots before any votes were cast in the 2024 election won't face any charges, a special prosecutor announced Wednesday.
Wausau Mayor Doug Diny posed for photos wearing a hard hat and work gloves as he removed the drop box from outside City Hall in September 2024. City workers hadn't yet unlocked the box but voters had started to receive their absentee ballots, according to the city's elections clerk, Kaitlyn Bernarde.
The move became a flashpoint over whether communities in swing state Wisconsin should allow absentee ballot drop boxes. Diny returned the box a week later after Bernarde raised questions about election integrity. The mayor denied he did anything wrong, saying the box was not secured to the ground and that anyone could have stolen it so he decided to secure it in City Hall.
The city’s ethics board determined in October 2024 that Diny violated Wausau's ethics policy. A state Justice Department investigation found no basis for charges.
Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney, a Republican running against Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul in the November 2026 elections, launched another probe acting as a special prosecutor. Toney said Wednesday he would not be able to prove any charges beyond a reasonable doubt. He noted that Wisconsin law prohibits breaking open a ballot box and tampering with ballots found in a ballot box, but the box Diny moved remained sealed and contained no ballots.
Toney also said the drop box didn't meet the definition of a ballot box because it was intended as a receptacle for multiple city materials, including ballots and payments. He cited the Wisconsin Elections Commission in saying ballot boxes are used in a polling place rather than for returning absentee ballots.
Diny did not immediately return email and voicemail messages seeking comment on Toney's conclusions.
Wausau’s mayor is officially a nonpartisan position, but Diny campaigned on his opposition to absentee drop boxes and had Republican backing during his run.
