COLUMBUS — A coalition of voting rights groups is joining Ohio Democrats in suing Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, seeking to force an expansion of ballot drop boxes ahead of the November election.
The complaint filed late Wednesday challenges LaRose’s order limiting drop boxes to one per county as unconstitutional.
The League of Women Voters of Ohio, the Ohio arm of the A. Philip Randolph Institute and the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP asked the federal court in Cleveland to rescind the Aug. 12 order and to set “reasonable” drop box-to-voter ratios for each county.
Dropboxes are viewed as a safe hybrid between in-person and mail-in voting and increasing the number of such boxes has been promoted as a way to ease absentee voting during the coronavirus.
Democrats filed a lawsuit earlier this week outlining what the Democrats see as an urgent need to expand the number of secure voter drop boxes in Ohio’s 88 counties.
LaRose’s directive prohibits county election boards from installing drop boxes anywhere but an election board.
The latest lawsuit claims that demand for an increased number of dropboxes has been increased by delays in delivery by the U.S. Postal Service.
By limiting drop boxes to just one in each county, the lawsuit alleges that LaRose is engaging in voter suppression by requiring people to leave their homes and go to public places during a pandemic, which disproportionately affects communities of color.