The Ohio Democratic Party sought judgement from the Ohio Supreme Court to rescind LaRose’s order that requires individuals delivering absentee ballots on behalf of a family member or disabled person to enter their BOE during business hours and fill out the attestation form when submitting the ballot, a plea that was denied in an opinion published by the court on Tuesday.
The decision was rendered on party lines, with the court’s four Republicans siding with fellow Republican LaRose, and the three Democrats dissenting.
In a statement issued soon after the ruling, LaRose said the court’s decision will “protect the integrity of Ohio’s elections.”
“... Political activists tried once again to dismantle the safeguards we’ve put in place, specifically in this case against ballot harvesting, and they’ve been rejected,” LaRose’s statement reads. “This is the same policy that’s been used successfully in other states, and it’s designed to protect both individuals and election officials from accusations of illegal voting. The court’s decision should reinforce the confidence Ohio voters have in the security, honesty, and accountability of our elections.”
In a dissenting opinion to Tuesday’s ruling, a pair of the court’s Democrats described LaRose’s directive as “a sleight of hand that should make our citizens shudder,” and which “undermines” the right to vote.
“The secretary’s directive ... cruelly targets persons who must, by necessity, rely on the help and grace of others,” the dissenting opinion reads, asserting undue burden will be put on caregivers, many of whom handle various day-to-day tasks for the family member or disabled person in these situations, by requiring additional steps in the ballot drop off process.
“The directive adds one more unnecessary challenge to overtaxed caregivers, encouraging them to throw up their hands and say, ‘I don’t have time for this,’” the opinion continues. “Voting will get triaged to the bottom of the never-ending to-do list and, by design, this directive will convince many people not to vote. That is a travesty beyond description.”
Montgomery County Board of Elections Director Jeff Rezabek said Tuesday his office will follow all statutes and directives related to the election.
“We are indicating to the voters that if they are delivering a relative’s or disabled person’s ballot they are to comply with the directive,” Rezabek said.
The Montgomery County BOE drop box is located outside on the west side of the Montgomery County Administration Building, which houses the BOE office. Access to the drop box is just off Vista View Drive.
Rezabek said earlier this month his office would “try to accommodate the voter (by leaving) attestation forms (at the ballot drop box),” as well as envelopes for the forms.
But Rezabek on Tuesday would not explicitly confirm that individuals designated with dropping off the ballot of another voter are prohibited from doing so via drop box, as LaRose’s directive indicates. He also would not confirm whether these individuals are instead required to enter the building during office hours and hand deliver the ballot and attestation form to election officials.
“... We are not manning the drop box 24/7, so we have put out there a clipboard with (attestation) forms and an envelope to put all that in, and as required under the directive, there is a sign placed on the drop box that explains the directive,” he said.
Rezabek deferred all other questions to the secretary of state’s office and LaRose’s directive itself.
LaRose’s drop box directive came after a federal court in July ruled in a case brought by the League of Women Voters of Ohio that Ohio’s law allowing only certain family members and the U.S. Postal Service to deliver absentee ballots violates federal law allowing disabled people to choose who they want to deliver their ballot.
Each county board of elections is allowed to have one secure drop box at the board office. They are monitored via video and a bipartisan team of election workers removes absentee ballots people have put in the box.
Local elections officials say the secure drop boxes are very popular with voters and give people who don’t want to use the U.S. Postal Service a way to deliver absentee ballots without having to come inside the office when it is open.
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