Ballot drop boxes seen as a way to bypass post office amid pandemic
PHOENIX — With the Trump administration openly trying to undermine mail-in voting this fall, some election officials around the country are hoping to bypass the Postal Service by installing lots of ballot drop boxes in libraries, community centers and other public places.
Such boxes have been used with success for several years in states like Oregon, Washington and Colorado that rely largely or entirely on ballots that must be sent in. But their use is being expanded because of the coronavirus outbreak and, more recently, concerns about the post office’s ability to do its job.
State or local authorities in places such as Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are pressing for more boxes or drop-off sites that would enable ballots to reach election officials without going through the mail.
“Donald Trump continues to undermine the legitimacy of mail-in absentee ballots by attacking the U.S. Postal Service,” said New York state Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Democrat who is sponsoring legislation to set up drop boxes beyond the usual confines of voting sites and local election offices. “New York can hit back on this anti-democratic fearmongering by establishing absentee ballot drop boxes across the state to help ensure the integrity of these ballots.”
In the potential battleground state of Wisconsin, the five biggest cities won a $6.3 million grant from the nonprofit Center for Tech and Civic Life to help administer the November election, including installation of drop boxes. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said his city will use some of its $2.1 million share to buy more than a dozen to install at libraries and other locations.
Arizona’s secretary of state is ordering about 70 more for the mostly rural areas that have requested them, and some counties are also purchasing extra ones.
Washington state election officials said that there are 450 drop boxes statewide, and there are discussions about adding more.
Election officials in some states — mainly Republicanled ones — have come out against adding drop boxes, saying doing so would be too costly, raises security concerns or would violate state laws.