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Federal Lawsuit Over Ohio Ballot Drop Boxes Is Dropped

By Jo Ingles

Published October 23, 2020 at 6:54 PM EDT

A federal lawsuit against Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose over allowing counties to add more ballot drop boxes at various locations has been dropped.

It was filed in August by groups including the A. Phillip Randolph Institute of Ohio, the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP, and the League of Women Voters of Ohio, but time ran out, said League of Women Voters of Ohio Executive Director Jen Miller Friday.

“We are so close to the election. It is unlikely that we are going to get a ruling that benefits voters so we are now focusing our attention elsewhere," Miller said.

Her group is now focused on helping voters with information on candidates and voting, Miller said, the plan is continue to fight for more drop boxes after Election Day.

The Ohio Democratic Party has filed a similar suit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. At this point, there is one drop box at each of Ohio’s county board of elections, though Cuyahoga County has an additional ballot collection site, sanctioned by LaRose , about a block away from the BOE at Campus International High School.

LaRose has said he doesn’t think he has legal authority to add more boxes at this point and is concerned such a move would create confusion so close to the Nov. 3 election.