Wausau Mayor’s Home Raided Last Week as Part of Ongoing Absentee Ballot Drop Box Investigation

Monday, October 21st, 2024 -- 3:01 PM

(Chris Conley, WSAU) The Federalist reports that Wausau Mayor Doug Diny’s home was raided last week as part of the ongoing absentee ballot drop box investigation.

According to Chris Conley with WSAU, the national publication says the raid happened on Wednesday, October 16. Cell phones belonging to the mayor and his wife and other electronic devices were taken as part of the investigation.

The state Department of Justice, led by Democrat Attorney General Josh Kaul, has not commented on the raid. Earlier this month Diny wheeled away the city’s unsecured, locked absentee ballot drop box from city hall plaza into his office.

The drop box had been placed outside by city clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde. She said she intended to have the drop box bolted in place before it would be unlocked to receive ballots. A secured dropbox has since reappeared outside city hall.

Bernarde referred the incident to the Marathon County DA’s office. Since then the state DOJ has taken over the investigation. Interfering with an election is a felony in Wisconsin.

However, the state legislature has never approved the use of drop boxes. They are allowed under a ruling from the liberal-majority state Supreme Court last July, which overturned an earlier decision from the court a year earlier.

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