The notice specifies that election officials must collect ballots and other required forms in person from someone dropping off a ballot for another person. Unmanned drop boxes can only be used by voters to drop off their own ballot.
An Ohio Supreme Court ruling this week upheld a directive from Secretary of State Frank LaRose that voters wishing to drop off a ballot for a close family member or disabled voter must fill out a form attesting that they are among those legally allowed to do so.
Montgomery County had been making such forms available at an unmanned outdoor drop box and advising voters they could fill out the form and drop it off with the ballot. The secretary of state directed elections boards to remove such forms and provide them to voters only in person.
This means the voter has to either park their car and enter the board of elections office or early voting location during business hours or the board of elections has to put a bipartisan team of employees at the drop box to accommodate voters.
“The only person who may use a drop box to return the ballot is the voter,” the Secretary of State’s Office reiterated.
Montgomery County Board of Elections officials did not respond to a request for comment on how this will impact their operations.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Amber Lopez, deputy director of the Clark County Board of Elections, said the Secretary of State’s message to election officials yesterday doesn’t change what Clark County has been doing.
“We have simply posted the sign as Secretary LaRose directed and are having voters fill out the attestation form in our office when they return someone else’s ballot,” Lopez said. “We are sorry for the inconvenience and confusion this may cause to voters, but we have no choice but to follow the directive.”
Confusion persists about the new rules, according to Butler County elections officials, especially about how voters could drop off a ballot for someone else after hours.
“I think that’s the main question that we have received from voters, calling in and asking about the new directive,” said Butler County Board of Elections Director Nicole Unzicker.
The updated guidance from the Secretary of State would suggest those ballots could only be dropped off when there is an election official working to provide an attestation form and accept the ballot.
Ohio law allows a disabled person to select anyone of their choosing to deliver their ballot, other than their employer or an officer in their union. Likewise, voters can return ballots for a close family member (as defined in state law). LaRose this election added the requirement that an attestation form is required in these cases.
Elections officials note there is still confusion about how to enforce the new rule. Drop boxes are monitored by camera 24/7, but it’s not always clear how many people are in a car. And if they see someone dropping off more than one ballot overnight, how will they know which ballots those were when they collect them in the morning.
“The only guidance we have is that we’ve posted the signs reiterating what the law is at this time, that you are to only drop your personal ballot in the drop box,” Unzicker said.
