The American Democracy Minute for Oct. 14, 2022
Today’s Links
Articles:
U.S. Vote Foundation – Ballot Drop Boxes are Safe and Easy to Use. Here’s How to Find Out If Voting by Drop Box is Available in Your State
National Conference of State Legislatures – Ballot Drop Box Laws
Associated Press – No major problems with ballot drop boxes in 2020, AP finds
Texas Tribune – How the debunked conspiracy film “2000 Mules” became Texas Republican orthodoxy
NPR – A new Georgia voting law reduced ballot drop box access in places that used them most
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
Our story yesterday reviewed rules on who can return an absentee or mail ballot. Today, we’re talking about ballot dropboxes, a convenient tool to help citizens vote, but used as a scapegoat for debunked allegations of voter fraud.
Election deniers and a discredited film called 2,000 Mules alleged that drop boxes were used to manipulate the 2020 election. A follow-up by the Associated Press found next to no fraudulent use of drop boxes, but that didn’t stop multiple states from eliminating them or severely limiting their use.
The U.S. Vote Foundation reports that If you live in CA, CT, HI, IL, KY, MD, ME, NV, VA or VT, drop boxes are in use and have not been removed. Some states have moved them inside and added 24 hour surveillance. Other states, including FL, GA, IA TX, IN, & WI have severely changed their policies. In 2020, Texas limited dropboxes to one per county, ridiculous when you consider that Brewster County, Texas is three times the size of Delaware and larger than the state of Connecticut. Georgia limited the number of drop boxes to one per 100,000 population, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court banned drop boxes entirely.
Mail-in voting states have expanded their drop boxes, including CA, CO, HI, OR, UT and WA.
Check the rules and locations for use of drop boxes by contacting your local election officials. We have a list of state rules at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.
For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.