COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican State Senators Theresa Gavarone and Andrew Brenner introduced Senate Bill 324, which would prohibit ballot drop boxes, impose citizenship verification requirements for some voters and other new rules.

What You Need To Know

  • With Tuesday’s election behind us, lawmakers at the statehouse are already considering changes for future elections

  • A new bill introduced this week in the Senate looks to eliminate drop boxes in Ohio 

  • Those are the boxes located at Boards of Elections across the state where early voters can drop off their ballots

  • The League of Women Voters said drop boxes are a common sense part of Ohio’s election system that Republicans, Democrats and Independents agree works well

Senator Gavarone said at a conference Thursday at COSI that the goal is to strengthen elections in Ohio. While she said Ohio already does a good job in running its elections, she wants to make sure they continue to be fair, honest, safe and secure. 

She referenced the ballot drop boxes that were set on fire in Oregon and Washington this year, which destroyed or damaged hundreds of ballots. She said she does not want that to ever happen in Ohio.

“What would happen if that happened in Ohio and all of these ballots were lost?" Gavarone said. “As a matter of fact, I was talking to one of my directors who said, yeah, I live in a college town. College students were throwing old Taco Bell wrappers in the drop boxes. So, I think it's important that we want to make sure every single vote is counted and that we're doing things right in Ohio.”

Jen Miller, the executive director of the League Of Women Voters, said they’re firm supporters of drop boxes. She said they’re a common-sense part of Ohio’s election system that Republicans, Democrats and Independents agree works well.  

She said experiences in other states shouldn’t dictate legislation in Ohio.

“Dropboxes in Ohio are fireproof, bomb proof, bolted to the ground, at least 600 pounds, emptied by members of two different political parties and have 24/7 video surveillance,” Miller said. “They are incredibly secure and common sense. Ohio should have more drop boxes, not less.”

Drop boxes are used not just for absentee ballots, they’re also used for voter registration forms, absentee request forms and candidate filings. Miller said eliminating drop boxes would make it much more difficult for Ohioans to communicate with their boards of elections. She said it would harm people with disabilities, senior citizens, people who work during the day and can’t make it to their board of elections during normal business hours and people who live in rural areas who have to travel far to get to their board of elections.

She said we should not be having wholesale changes to Ohio’s election system. Instead, if we want to change pieces, each piece should be in its own individual bill with robust dialogue so we don’t have unintended consequences. 

For more information on Senate Bill 324, visit here.