Wisconsin mayor who removed ballot drop box ahead of 2024 elections won’t be charged
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin mayor who took away a drop box intended for mail-in ballots before any votes were cast in the 2024 election will not face 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 in front of City Hall in September 2024. City workers had not yet unlocked the box, but voters had begun receiving their absentee ballots, according to city Elections Secretary Kaitlyn Bernarde.
The ruling has become a flashpoint over whether communities in swing state Wisconsin should allow drop boxes for mail-in ballots. Diny returned the box a week later after Bernarde raised questions about the integrity of the election. The mayor denied doing anything wrong, saying the box was not secured to the ground and anyone could have stolen it. He therefore decided to secure it at the town hall.
The city’s ethics committee determined in October 2024 that Diny had violated Wausau’s ethics policy. A state Department of Justice investigation found no basis for the charges.
Wausau’s mayor officially holds a nonpartisan position, but Diny campaigned on his opposition to absentee drop boxes and enjoyed Republican support during his campaign.
Fond du Lac County Prosecutor Eric Toney, a Republican running against Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul in the November 2026 election, launched another investigation 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 opening a ballot box and tampering with ballots found in a ballot box, but that the box Diny moved remained sealed and contained no ballots.
Toney also said the drop box did not meet the definition of a ballot box because it was intended to serve as a receptacle for several municipal documents, including ballots and payments. He cited the Wisconsin Elections Commission in saying the drop boxes are used at a polling place rather than to return absentee ballots.
Diny did not immediately respond to email and voicemail messages seeking comment on Toney’s findings.
