Secretary of State Frank LaRose Orders Ohioans to Only Use Ballot Boxes to Drop Off Their Own Votes

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio ballot drop boxes can only be used by early absentee voters in the 2024 general election, according to a directive issued Friday by Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

Under the directive, anyone returning a completed ballot on behalf of someone else cannot use a drop box located at one of Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections. Instead, the person must either mail the ballot or drop it off at an elections office, where they must sign a form stating that they are returning the ballot within the law.

Ohio law only allows close relatives to cast ballots, but a federal court recently ruled that this restriction cannot apply to disabled voters.

Electoral commission employees must post a notice next to each ballot box informing users of the applicable rules.

The directive does not specify what consequences, if any, a person may face for refusing to sign such a form, but the form does note that election fraud is a fifth-degree felony in Ohio.

LaRose’s directive, issued less than 40 days before early voting begins for the November election, says the new rules are intended to curb mass ballot harvesting, or the gathering and casting of mail-in ballots.

“It is important to ensure the integrity of each vote cast on behalf of an absentee voter,” the directive states. “The security of postal vote delivery remains paramount, especially with respect to the use of unattended ballot drop boxes.”

LaRose, a Columbus Republican, said in a letter to Republican legislative leaders that he issued the directive in response to a federal court ruling in July that struck down a section of a 2023 law that restricted who could cast a ballot as a disabled voter. LaRose said the ruling created a “loophole” in ballot collection that could be exploited by ballot harvesters operating “under the guise of helping the disabled.”

READ MORE: Frank LaRose Asks Lawmakers to Ban Ohio’s Ballot Boxes and Require Proof of Citizenship for Voter Registration

LaRose called on lawmakers to take some kind of action in response — suggesting an outright ban on the use of ballot drop boxes, which have been a subject of debate between Republicans and Democrats in Ohio for years.

Last year, state lawmakers — in the same law that limits who can cast another voter’s ballot — specified that only one ballot drop box can be set up in a county elections office.

House Minority Leader Allison Russo of suburban Columbus, who like other Ohio Democrats has frequently criticized LaRose’s electoral policies, condemned LaRose’s directive in a statement.

“Secretary LaRose’s unfounded restrictions will make it harder for people with disabilities, seniors and their families to vote, which is inconsistent with our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to voting,” Russo said. “Making it harder to vote under the guise of safety does not serve our communities (and) does not put Ohioans first — it undermines their ability to participate in our democracy.”

Ohio law allows LaRose, the state’s top elections official, to issue directives like the one he issued Friday. Because the directive was issued less than 90 days before the general election, it remains in effect only through mid-December.

Such temporary guidelines, unlike permanent directives, are not subject to public consultation or review.