Ohio’s elections chief OKs 2nd ballot drop box in Cleveland

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Voters in Ohio’s second-most populous county will have access to a second ballot drop box in next month’s election, a striking exception to a one-box-per-county directive that the state, the Trump campaign and other Republicans have forcefully defended in state and federal court.

Cuyahoga County, home to Democrat-heavy Cleveland and five dozen smaller cities, villages and townships, got the word Monday, according to court documents. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose approved the additional box after a federal judge ordered him to negotiate and report back.

LaRose said negotiations began before Judge Dan Polster’s order.

The two boxes will be close together. The first, permanent box is at the county board of elections in downtown Cleveland. The second will be set up in a parking lot across the street, documents show.

Still, it represents a key concession to Democrats and voting rights groups that have argued that a single drop box isn’t adequate, particularly in Ohio’s heavily populated counties. At least one other county elections board, in rural Athens, also has received permission to offer a second drop box — but at a second entrance to the same building, a representative said Friday.

The deal cut in Cuyahoga County comes as LaRose awaits a ruling in a separate state appellate court case where Democrats are seeking to block the directive statewide. A trial judge declared the order “arbitrary and unreasonable” Sept. 15 and temporarily blocked it the next day. That decision was stayed as the state appealed.

The cities of Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati have joined Democrats’ suit in opposition to the order. The federal suit was brought separately in Cleveland by the A. Philip Randolph Institute of Ohio, a voting rights group.

During oral arguments in the state lawsuit last week, a lawyer for the Ohio Democratic Party argued that LaRose’s evolving public statements and erratic actions prior to issuing the directive prove his order is not reasonable. Attorney Corey Colombo said LaRose first said the law governing drop boxes was unclear, then asked for an attorney general’s opinion, then rescinded that request.

LaRose’s attorney told the court the secretary acted reasonably to avoid burdening election boards and fomenting chaos and to establish uniformity in state election policy. President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, the Republican National Committee and other GOP groups are siding with LaRose in the case.