COLUMBUS, Ohio — With an increased number of absentee ballots expected for this year’s November election, a Columbus judge has ruled that each of Ohio’s 88 counties are permitted to have more than one drop box for absentee ballots.
The decision, which was announced Tuesday in Franklin County, came after the Ohio Democratic Party filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Frank LaRose and the limits that prohibited additional ballot drop boxes in each county.
“As a result, the court finds that in the present context of the 2020 general election this restriction is arbitrary and unreasonable,” Judge Richard Frye wrote in his decision. “This restriction blocks individual county boards of elections from even considering the use of more than one drop box, or placing boxes at locations separate from board offices.”
Frye’s decision was based on three “unusual factors” that came into play:
- The COVID-19 pandemic
- The absence of statutory law
- Delay of U.S. mail delivery
“Every board of elections is legally permitted to consider enhancing safe and convenient delivery of absentee ballots, and may tailor ballot drop box locations or conceivably other secure options to the needs of their individual county.”
Read the full court ruling:
The ruling also outlined how each county’s differing size and population could impact Ohio voters’ ability to travel to their one drop box.
“While the time of day, road network, traffic patterns, availability of public transportation and other features within each county are obvious factors that impact the accessibility of one or more ballot drop boxes, as a generalization it can be said that counties covering a relatively larger geographic area will require more travel time by voters than is needed in smaller counties. Traffic volume in counties with larger populations will also, generally, result in more road congestion and travel time than in less populated counties.”
The judge also considered that many Ohioans rely on public transportation, which gave “another legitimate basis for concern that travel to a single drop box will adversely impact its voters.”
Election day arrives Tuesday, Nov. 3.