Ballot Boxes Become Divisive Issue Ahead of US Elections

There is a new divisive issue in the U.S. presidential election: the ballot¹ drop box.

The issue has taken on new urgency following cost-cutting measures at the U.S. Postal² Service. The measures have slowed mail delivery nationwide.

U.S. election officials are preparing for a major expansion of mail-in voting. Experts say up to half of voters in the November 3 election may choose to not vote in person.

Democrats⁴ want drop boxes, Republicans do not

Democrats across the country are promoting drop boxes as an easy and reliable choice for voters who do not want to entrust⁵ their ballots⁶ to the U.S. Postal Service.

In Connecticut, Secretary of State Denise Merrill is recommending that voters turn in their ballots by drop box rather than through the mail. She made the recommendation after receiving reports that some ballots mailed a week before her state's August 11 nominating contests arrived too late to be counted.

Three-quarters of ballots in that August primary were cast absentee, she said. Merrill, a Democrat³, said the state's 200 new drop boxes had proven a safe and popular choice.

"I do not understand why people think they're such a problem," Merrill said. "They're more secure than mailboxes."

Republicans in Pennsylvania do not share that opinion.

Bruce Marks is a former Republican state senator from Pennsylvania. He said drop boxes do not offer trust that the person turning in a ballot is the person who cast that vote.

"There's no one watching or tracking," he said.

Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor Tom Wolf has defended the state's use of drop boxes. He argues they are legal and necessary, especially during the coronavirus crisis.

President Donald Trump⁷, a Republican, won the state of Pennsylvania by less than 1 percentage point in 2016. Public opinion studies show that he is running behind Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the presidential race.

Trump's re-election campaign has taken legal action to prevent the use of ballot drop boxes in Pennsylvania. The campaign says the boxes could lead to voting fraud. Republican officials in other states have already prevented the use of drop boxes.

In neighboring Ohio, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said last week that he did not want to risk similar legal action from the Trump administration. He announced he would permit one drop box for each of the state's 88 counties. He said the Republican-controlled legislature had not given him the power to provide more.

Democrats are urging LaRose to change his decision. They note that the decision leaves the 864,000 registered voters in Cleveland's Cuyahoga County with the same number of drop boxes as the 8,400 registered voters in Vinton County. Cuyahoga County voters are majority Democrat. Vinton is a majority Republican county.

In hotly contested Florida, Democrats in Miami-Dade County are seeking to make it easier for voters to use drop boxes.

Unlike other counties in the state, Miami-Dade voters must provide election officials with identification when putting a ballot in a drop box. Election workers also record a number printed on the voter's envelope.

The process can take up to three minutes, the Democratic Party said in a letter to local election officials. The party is seeking to permit voters to drop their ballots quickly without the processing requirements.

Security measures required for ballot drop boxes differ from state to state. In Montana, at least two election officials must be present at the boxes. In New Mexico, the boxes are watched by video.

Some say the drop box battle is unnecessary.

Before 2020, eight states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington — had laws explaining how and where drop boxes could be used.

Returning ballots this way proved popular. In Colorado, Oregon and Washington, more than half of mail ballots were returned either to a drop box or to an election office in the 2016 presidential election. Those numbers come from a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study.

Drop boxes have not caused debate in those states, said Murphy Bannerman of Election Protection Arizona, a voting-rights group.

"Both parties use it at a really high rate," Bannerman said. "So a lot of those tensions don't exist here."

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

promote - v. to help (something) happen, develop, or increase

reliable - adj. able to be trusted to do or provide what is needed

track - v. to follow or watch the path of (something)

fraud - n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

cast - v. to make (a vote) formally

print - v. to cause (words, images, etc.) to appear on paper or cloth by using a machine (called a printer)

envelope - n. an enclosing cover for a letter, card, etc.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 entrust   

v.信赖，信托，交托

参考例句：

• I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。
• They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。

6 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。