Federal judge rules Ohio can't limit number of ballot drop boxes in each county

People drop off their ballots in Dayton, Ohio, this April.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

A federal judge on Thursday evening blocked an order from Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) that would limit the number of mail-in ballot drop boxes to just one in each county.

LaRose said that he interpreted Ohio law to mean that county election officials could only set up one drop box at their office, and nowhere else, but U.S. District Judge Dan Polster ruled that this unfairly burdens larger counties. "While it may be said that the 7,903 registered voters in Noble County may find a single drop box location sufficient, the record demonstrates that the 858,041 registered voters in Cuyahoga County will likely not," Polster stated. Cuyahoga County had planned to have ballot drop off boxes set up at six different libraries.

Several organizations filed lawsuits to stop LaRose's order, saying that it was unfair to people with disabilities, senior citizens, people without transportation options, and those who live far away from county election offices. LaRose has filed an appeal, and his spokeswoman said that "the place to make changes in how we run our elections is in the statehouse, not the courthouse."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.