Republican candidates for Ohio Secretary of State want to ditch election drop boxes, an option that came under fire from now-President Donald Trump following his 2020 defeat.
In a new ad, state Treasurer Robert Sprague, a Republican campaigning to run Ohio’s elections, tells a Sesame Street-like character named “Lefty the Cheat” that “ballot drop boxes just aren’t secure” and pledges to eliminate them.
Sprague’s primary challenger, retired Air Force intelligence officer Marcell Strbich, has also advocated for banning election drop boxes. He wants to end no-excuse absentee voting and require people to vote on paper ballots.
But local election officials and voting rights groups say drop boxes are a safe way for older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, college students and busy voters to return their absentee ballots.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, describes the option as “secure” on his office’s website. But he’s also floated the idea of eliminating them in a letter to legislative leaders. Any change would require state lawmakers’ approval.
Unlike the scenario in Sprague’s ad, the average Ohioan is unlikely to stumble upon one on their street. Each county has one drop box located at its county board of elections, monitored with video, fire- and bomb-proofed and emptied by members of two different political parties.
“Ohio’s local election officials strongly support the use of drop boxes for Ohio voters. Despite unsubstantiated claims to the contrary, drop boxes are safe, secure and reliable,” said Aaron Ockerman, executive director of the Ohio Association of Election Officials.
There are no documented cases of ballots being damaged or stolen from Ohio drop boxes, Ockerman said. “Furthermore, Ohio already has strong ballot-harvesting laws and directives, which discourage and punish any potentially nefarious behavior.”
Some Ohio counties have used ballot drop boxes for years, but their use became ubiquitous during the 2020 election when the COVID-19 pandemic forced more Ohioans to vote via mail. Lawsuits ensued as Republicans challenged when and how drop boxes could be used.
Banning drop boxes wouldn’t just affect Democratic voters, as “Lefty the Cheat” might imply.
“More Republicans than Democrats, generally, vote absentee in Ohio,” said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. “And so, anyone who thinks that eliminating drop boxes only harms one set of voters is wrong. It harms senior citizens, people with disabilities, rural Ohioans and so many others who prefer to vote absentee.”
On the other side of the drop box debate, Democratic Secretary of State candidate Allison Russo introduced legislation to expand drop boxes to every polling location. But House Bill 761 has not received a hearing in the GOP-controlled Legislature.
“Free and fair elections depend on more than just the right to vote,” Russo said when the bill was introduced. “They depend on the ability to exercise that right without barriers.”
Cincinnati cancer doctor Bryan Hambley, who is also running for Secretary of State as a Democrat, supports that change. He told the statehouse bureau that allowing only one ballot drop box per county is difficult for voters in large areas.
The primary election is already underway, and Ohioans can drop off their absentee ballots at drop boxes outside their county boards of election. Election Day in Ohio is May 5.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@usatodayco.com or @jbalmert on X.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Republicans running for Ohio’s election chief want to dump drop boxes
Reporting by Jessie Balmert, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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