//The Wire//1800Z July 5, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: LABOUR PARTY WINS BIG IN U.K. ELECTIONS. U.S. FORCES CONTINUE TARGETING HOUTHIS IN YEMEN. WISCONSIN REINSTATES BALLOT DROP BOXES.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

-International Events-

United Kingdom: The Labour Party swept yesterdays election in a landslide, ousting Tory leadership from power. Last night, Kier Starmer accepted the role of Prime Minister.

Red Sea/HOA: Yesterday US forces allegedly destroyed two more Houthi Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs), in addition to an alleged Houthi radar site in Yemen.

-HomeFront-

New York: A suspected drunk driver drove his vehicle into a crowd of people in a park in Lower East Side Manhattan last night. 3x people were killed in the collision, and as of this morning at least 7x are still hospitalized due to the severity of their injuries.

Wisconsin: The State Supreme Court has issued a ruling to reinstate most ballot drop boxes, following its own earlier decision to ban their use. The earlier judgement was based on their interpretation of a state statute which made the use of drop boxes outside of official election centers illegal, as well as the state laws prohibiting the executive branch from tampering with election procedures.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: As a reminder, the use (and number of) ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin increased substantially during the COVID era, with over 40% of all votes cast during the 2020 election originating from drop boxes that were deemed illegal by the Supreme Court. The situation with regards to Wisconsin’s highest legal office has also become particularly nasty following many scandals and much infighting over the past year. The Wisconsin Supreme Court changed to a liberal majority last year, resulting in many corruption scandals, changes to procedure, and more open partisanship (via justices receiving exceptionally large campaign donations from political parties). This also resulted in the reversal of their own ruling, which will keep ballot drop boxes in place for the 2024 election season.

Analyst: S2A1

//END REPORT//