Ohio drop box restrictions add new front to mail-in voting battle

Ohio voting. — (Image credit: Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images)

Drop boxes are set to take center stage in the "2020 voting wars."

On Wednesday, Ohio's Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose released a statement spelling out the rules and regulations for drop box usage during general election voting, and some viewed it as a red flag that could suppress voter turnout.

LaRose says legitimate drop boxes will be placed only at county boards of elections, and that "boards of elections are prohibited from installing a drop box at any other location." But Democrats in the state are arguing there's no legal reason for such a restriction, and that limiting the number of drop boxes will make it more challenging for voters to get their ballots in on time during the coronavirus pandemic.

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It doesn't help that recent concerns about the slow pace of the United States Postal Service has some worried about delays to mail-in ballots. President Trump has even faced allegations of grinding the service to a halt deliberately.

The move is viewed by some as an attempt to cater to the Trump administration. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.