OHIO, USA — The way you vote in Ohio could change, especially if you voted via a drop box.
Sen. Theresa Gavarone introduced Senate Bill 325 which she said would better protect Ohio elections. In that bill, ballot drop boxes would be eliminated and people would have to hand deliver their ballots.
According to data from the secretary of state’s office, in the last election about 7% of voters in Ohio used a drop box. That’s about 180,000 voters.
Senate Bill 325 would also require people to show their citizenship status when registering to vote or changing their voter registration. Gavarone said right now, there is a gap with citizen checks.
“We need to make sure our drop boxes are taking care of that problem. That people don’t have the ability to sabotage our elections,” said Gavarone.
10TV asked the senator what she would say to those who think getting rid of drop boxes would create voter suppression.
“We have early voting, you know, in person, you can drop something in the mail, or you can go into the board of elections and drop it off in person. Here in Ohio we make it easy to get your ballot turned in,” she said.
Some people disagree with the new legislation. Jen Miller, the executive director of the League of Women Voters said drop boxes in Ohio are safe.
“They are a secure and common-sense solution,” said Miller. “They are 600 pounds and bolted in the ground. They have a very narrow slip that you can barely put anything in but 1 ballot in. They have surveillance 24/7,” said Miller.
Miller said the lengthy legislation could create future problems.
“We should never put so many different elections policies into one bill because it's so easy to bake in unintended consequences that harm voters and our overall democratic process,” said Miller.
As for non-citizen voting, Miller said that is not an issue in Ohio.
The bill looks to make several other changes. Read the full text here.