CLEVELAND — In contrast to what Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has previously said, an Ohio court of appeals ruled on Friday that it is within his discretion to allow multiple ballot drop boxes within each county in the state, ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
This comes after a trial court judge in Franklin County issued an injunction in September blocking LaRose's directive that stated each county was only permitted to have one ballot drop box, to be located at its Board of Elections office, which LaRose's office appealed.
Ohio's 10th District Court of Appeals threw out that part of the lower court's decision, but also upheld the ruling that LaRose was incorrect in his interpretation that Ohio law only permitted one ballot drop box per county.
Spokesperson for LaRose, Maggie Sheehan, told 3News on Saturday morning, "We received and are reviewing the decision and are pleased with the court’s ruling to reverse the injunction."
The Ohio Democratic Party was pleased with the ruling for different reasons.
Chairman David Pepper said: “We are pleased that the court agreed with our contention from the outset of this dispute that nothing in Ohio law prevents the addition of drop boxes throughout counties. They explicitly rejected Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s argument that somehow Ohio statute prohibited them, which he had used as his excuse for banning all but one per county. This decision makes clear that that was a political decision and not one with any basis in state law.
“It is now time for LaRose to act on his public and private comments that he ‘would love to see more drop boxes.’ It’s the right thing to do, and there is time to allow counties to add drop boxes in the final weeks of the election, when they will be most helpful, just like they are being installed in states across the country.”
In the opinion for the 10th District Court of Appeals, Judge Betsy Luper Schuster wrote:
"We agree with appellees and the trial court that R.C. 3509.05(A) does not limit the number or locations of drop boxes that a board of elections may provide. We further agree with appellees and the trial court that R.C. 3509.05(A) does not limit the Secretary of State from instructing boards of elections that they may have multiple drop boxes at alternate locations in their respective counties.”
Judge Schuster added: "If, as appellees argue, the Secretary wants to permit additional drop boxes, he has the authority to do so and nothing in this decision prohibits him from rescinding Directive 2020-16 and issuing a new directive accordingly."
The original lawsuit brought in trial court against LaRose's directive to limit ballot drop boxes to one per county was filed by the Ohio Democratic Party, with the cities of Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus and the labor umbrella group AFL-CIO joining the case.
The Ohio Republican Party, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Trump for America campaign joined LaRose's defense in the initial case.
