COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — There are just over two months until Election Day, and politicians have just made some last-minute changes to how Ohioans can cast their ballot.
“There has to be some end to changing rules,” Governor Mike DeWine said.
“Really, I don’t want to make any changes to the way that we run elections in Ohio unless they’re forced upon us,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said. “And in this case, it was as a result of a recent lawsuit that we had to make this change.”
A federal judge recently ruled that Ohioans with disabilities can choose anyone to help deliver their ballot, not just those on the select state-approved list for who can submit a ballot on another’s behalf. LaRose said that prompted action on his part, as he distributed new orders for boards of elections and a request to eliminate all drop boxes in Ohio.
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Under current state law , one ballot drop box is allowed at each county board of elections, and are the law has a list of relatives who may deliver an absentee ballot on behalf of someone else. That list includes the person’s: spouse, parent (including adopting or stepparent), parent-in-law, grandparent, sibling (including half sibling), child (including adopted or stepchild), aunt/uncle and niece/nephew. With the new ruling, Ohioans with disabilities could ask anyone, and LaRose worries this could cause problems.