A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday denied a request from the state elections commission to keep absentee ballot drop boxes in place through the April 5 election for local offices.

That means that after Tuesday’s primary, drop boxes located outside of local election clerks’ offices will be illegal and no one other than the voter will be allowed to return an absentee ballot.

That was a lower court’s ruling that the Supreme Court put on hold through the primary. On Friday, in a 4-3 ruling, it denied a request to extend the stay through the April 5 general election.

The court has yet to rule on the underlying case, which will determine the legality of absentee drop boxes going forward in the battleground state.

The fight is being closely watched as Republicans push to limit access to absentee ballots following President Joe Biden’s narrow win over Donald Trump in 2020. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson are on the ballot in November.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission asked the state’s high court to extend its stay. Disability Rights Wisconsin, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also asked for an extension.

But the court said the elections commission has enough time after Tuesday’s primary to communicate with local election clerks that drop boxes can’t be used in the April 5 election. The commission planned to meet Wednesday to discuss implementing the lower court’s order, said agency spokesman Riley Vetterkind.