What’s the Deal with Drop Boxes?
Why some jurisdictions are installing secure ‘drop boxes’ for mail-in ballots to be deposited up until Election Day
Written by Miles Rapoport and Cecily Hines
With serious concerns about the ability of the U.S. Postal Service to handle the expected volume of mail-in ballots this year, a number of jurisdictions are moving to install dedicated ‘drop boxes’, where ballots can be deposited through election day. It seems like a logical move to make, especially since the Postal Service itself sent out letters in July to most states warning that ballots may not be delivered in time to meet legal deadlines. USPS has subsequently stated that ballots mailed will not be delayed, but there certainly remains real cause for worry.
As a result, drop boxes are an important element of having next month’s election come off in a good way, and their use is growing dramatically. At least 34 states have used or are planning to use ballot drop boxes this year, according to the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project. Hundreds of drop boxes are being installed in Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland, while numerous drop boxes have been installed in jurisdictions across the country, such as Salt Lake County, Utah; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the state of Michigan; and Cook County, Illinois.
First, a few basics. These secure drop cost approximately $6000 each. Manufacturers for these boxes include Vote Armor, Ballot Drops and Kingsley. Drop boxes typically come in one of two forms: either indoor drop-off locations that are staffed (some states are also allowing drive-through staffed locations), or unstaffed outdoor boxes that are locked, anchored, tamper-proof, and often monitored by 24-hour video surveillance. In addition to the heft and weight of the outdoor drop boxes, security is enhanced by having the boxes installed into the ground, often in cement. Federal guidelines from the Election Assistance Commission say drop boxes “must be secured and locked at all times,” and “[o]nly an election official or a designated ballot drop box collection team should have access to the keys and/or combination of the lock.”
“Drop boxes are expected to ease the pressure on the USPS and to be a safe way for individuals to deliver their ballot in a pandemic”
In Chicago, all ballots will be collected daily and time-stamped. Each voter that requested an absentee ballot will get an email confirmation when the ballot is received by the County, whether sent through USPS mail or by delivery to a drop box. Security cameras, special lighting, accessibility, and chain of custody logs with bipartisan participation, are added protections being used for drop box deliveries. Similar protections are in place in Georgia and many other states. According to CBS News, Jordan Fuchs, Georgia’s deputy secretary of state, called claims that drop boxes are not secure “silly.” She is encouraging all counties in Georgia to install drop boxes, and the state has a grant process which counties can use to request up to up to $3000 to offset 75% of their drop box costs, including purchase and installation.
Election officials from both parties who have had experience with drop boxes for a number of years are in agreement in finding drop boxes to be secure, and not subject to tampering. In 2016 in Washington State, 57% of votes were cast using ballot boxes. In Colorado, close to 75% of all voters in the 2016 general election cast their ballots using a drop box. And because mailing out ballots requires the state to update address records continually, the Director of Elections in Colorado, Judd Choate, told the Bipartisan Policy Center in June that “vote-by-mail actually reduces fraud instead of promoting it.”
But clearly, not everyone agrees. Election officials as well as legislators and governors in some states claim there are security concerns, and those officials are moving to limit drop boxes. In Ohio, where drop boxes were found to be totally secure during the primary, the Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, has taken the position that a state law requiring that a drop box be placed in each county actually limits him to only one per county, with no authority to place more. A Franklin County judge subsequently blocked LaRose’s order limiting the boxes to one per county as arbitrary and unreasonable; both the State and the Republican Party have appealed. Amid this uncertainty voting in Ohio scheduled to begin on October 6, while last week LaRose approved a second drop box for Cuyahoga County.
And just this week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott also declared that there would be only one drop box per county in Texas. In Harris County, the state’s most populous and covering nearly 2000 square miles, the already-advertised 12 drop box locations must now be reduced to one, limiting ease of access to millions of voters. This is in contrast to the bipartisan U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) recommendation that election officials install one drop box for every 15,000 to 20,000 registered voters. Voting rights advocates are calling this a blatant attempt at voter suppression, and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the Texas League of Women Voters have filed suits to rescind the limit.
In addition, President Trump is actively undermining confidence in drop boxes by claiming that they are not secure and will be used to rig the election, despite no evidence supporting such assertions. Trump and the Republican National Committee have even taken their claims of potential fraud into court, including an effort to block Pennsylvania from using drop boxes for the November election. While the legal fight continues, even after a judge stayed the action, drop boxes are being placed throughout Pennsylvania in those cities and towns that want them.
Not surprisingly, the argument has a partisan cast. It is generally urban Democratic-leaning areas that are seeking more drop boxes, given their larger populations and heightened health concerns due to the pandemic. And some of the fiercest opposition seems to be occurring in critical swing states, like Ohio and Pennsylvania. Some observers in Texas took Abbott’s action as a sign that the election there could be far closer than has historically been the case.
So, what’s the deal with drop boxes? Drop boxes are expected to ease the pressure on the USPS and to be a safe way for individuals to deliver their ballot in a pandemic. It appears that where they have been used, they have added convenience and security into the vote-by-mail process. There has been no credible evidence of fraud or efforts to rig any outcome. And with the tight “chain of custody” protections in place, it appears use of these boxes is making it easier and safer for citizens to vote, without sacrificing election security.
About the Authors
Miles Rapoport
Miles Rapoport, a longtime organizer, policy advocate, and elected official, brings to the Ash Center four decades of experience working to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions in the United States. Prior to his appointment to the Ash Center, Rapoport was most recently president of the independent grassroots organization Common Cause. For 13 years, he headed the public policy center Demos.
Rapoport previously served as Connecticut’s Secretary of the State and a state legislator for ten years in Hartford. He has written, spoken, and organized widely on issues of American democracy. He was a member of the Harvard class of 1971.
Cecily Hines
Cecily Hines currently serves as Senior Program Advisor to the Senior Practice Fellowship in American Democracy at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School. She is also a retired senior executive and general counsel with over 20 years of experience, primarily in the global medical device industry.
She was the first chief executive hired by Minneapolis Parks Foundation where she led the organization from an unknown entity to a highly respected organization, with an impressive board of directors and a reputation for leadership in its “next generation of parks” initiative.
Ms. Hines has served on numerous nonprofit and private boards, and as board chair of several of them.
She earned her J.D. degree from Duke University “with distinction”, her M.P.A. from New York University, and her B.A. from Smith College.
