Ballot drop boxes will return to Milwaukee

I'm Hope Karnopp and this is the Daily Briefing newsletter by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Sign up here to get it sent to your inbox each morning.

I hate to say it, but it's going to be another rainy week in Milwaukee. Showers and thunderstorms will be scattered throughout today, and possible again tomorrow afternoon. And turns out a sliver of Wisconsin could be impacted by Hurricane Beryl, which could mean more heavy rainfall.

Ballot drop boxes will return to Milwaukee

It's an understatement to say there was a *lot* of political news on Friday, including President Joe Biden's visit to Madison, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin's separate campaign event in northeastern Wisconsin, and two state Supreme Court rulings that affect how the state Legislature works and how absentee ballots can be returned.

You might have missed that absentee ballot drop boxes are now legal again in Wisconsin, after the state Supreme Court reversed an earlier ruling that found them unconstitutional. Clerks can now use drop boxes for upcoming elections: the Aug. 13 partisan primary and Nov. 5 general election.

What does this mean for Milwaukee? The city will offer 12, and possibly 14 drop boxes, by the August election. Two are being evaluated and possibly replaced, and another is located at a library that's under construction. An upcoming July 30 special election for Milwaukee's 4th Senate District won't have drop boxes available.

Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez said staff have been visiting all of the boxes and checking that the covers on them are secured, the locks are in place and that the boxes open up properly. The commission is also reviewing the signage and doing a "security enhancement" with cameras and local law enforcement.

When fireworks cause air pollution

The fireworks that lit up Milwaukee's skies Thursday night also produced air pollution that soared to hazardous levels in some neighborhoods, Madeline Heim reports.

Any number over 300 is deemed to be hazardous, surpassing "unhealthy" and "very unhealthy" levels and posing risks to everyone breathing it in. By late Thursday night, a sensor in Milwaukee's Amani neighborhood measured an air quality index of 472, said Langston Verdin, founder and co-executive director of MKE FreshAir Collective.

Children, older adults and people with cardiac or respiratory conditions, like asthma, are most susceptible to health impacts from short-term exposures like fireworks smoke, according to the DNR. The air pollution Thursday night was typical for July 4 in Milwaukee, Verdin said. He believes personal fireworks displays, not city or county-sanctioned ones that crowds gather to watch, drove the spikes in air pollution.

"We have this new culture of neighbor trying to one-up neighbor with their fireworks displays," Verdin said. "As a negative side effect, you're putting these dangerous pollutants in the air."

Don't miss these

• Here's how St. Ben's is preparing for the RNC and working to avoid potential conflicts between homeless individuals and police within the security zone.
• Who arranges the 100,000 balloons at the RNC? It's Treb Heining's 10th time putting together the balloon drop, but a local company isn't so happy.
• More people are enrolled in FoodShare, or food stamps, compared to before the pandemic. A new report explains why, including high grocery costs.
• A UW-Madison study found wolves can bring benefits to an ecosystem. But the bigger story is how they reached that conclusion.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo has led Greece to its first Olympic Games in men's basketball since 2008.
• Here are our reviews of the best and worst performers at Summerfest's final day, and Maroon 5's show.

Hope Karnopp can be reached at HKarnopp@gannett.com or on Twitter at @hopekarnopp.

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