2020-57 - Ballot Drop Boxes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Buiiock, Litten, Neff, 0' Maliey, RESOLUTION NO. 2020-57 BY: Rader, Shachner A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the vote of at least two thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect at the earliest period allowed by law, urging Secretary LaRose to immediately reverse his order banning off -site secure drop boxes for absentee ballots; and urging the City of Lakewood Law Department to explore whether a legal action to vindicate voting rights could be brought pursuant to the federal Voting Rights Act, the Help America Vote Act, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the Ohio Constitution and relevant statutes, guaranteeing all citizens their precious right to vote. WHEREAS, this November, the City of Lakewood, along with the rest of the country, will be participating in a presidential election; and WHEREAS, in previous elections, densely populated cities such as Lakewood have been plagued by excessively long waiting times to cast a vote; and WHEREAS, cities like Lakewood have repeatedly been targets of voter suppression, through tactics such as purges of the voter rolls, elimination of polling places, and restrictions of voting by mail; and WHEREAS, the coronavirus pandemic has added another layer of difficulty to the voting process, which requires our electoral system to adapt to these changing circumstances; and WHEREAS, transportation to and from the drop box at the Cuyahoga Board of Elections several miles away, or depending on a close family member (O.R.C. 3509.05) to deliver completed ballots poses an undue burden on many Lakewood voters, particularly seniors, persons with disabilities, and those without personal transportation; and WHEREAS, one of the methods which can facilitate the electoral process is the deployment of secure drop boxes for absentee ballots at off -site locations; and WHEREAS, On Tuesday, September 15t' Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Richard Frye ruled that, "No statute says that delivery must occur with only one box per county. No statute says that delivery would be improper to a drop box controlled by a board and placed at a safe location separate and apart from the main board office. The statute is silent on such matters. The Secretary cannot slip new words into the law," and that Secretary LaRose's order blocking this common sense approach is, "arbitrary and unreasonable." WHEREAS, In Judge Frye's opinion, he noted LaRose stated in a related federal case he would support additional drop boxes if they were legal, and abide by a court ruling in favor of them, and Secretary LaRose has now received such a legal opinion.