ATLANTA (AP) — The expanded use of drop bins for mailed ballots throughout the 2020 election didn't result in any widespread issues, in response to an Related Press survey of state election officers throughout the U.S. that exposed no circumstances of fraud, vandalism or theft that might have affected the outcomes.
The findings from each Republican- and Democratic-controlled states run opposite to claims made by former President Donald Trump and his allies who've intensely criticized their use and falsely claimed they had been a goal for fraud.
Drop bins are thought of by many election officers to be secure and safe, and have been used to various levels by states throughout the political spectrum. But conspiracy theories and efforts by Republicans to remove or prohibit them for the reason that 2020 election persist. This month, the conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Courtroom dominated that drop bins are usually not allowed beneath state legislation and might not be extensively used.
Drop bins are also a focus of the movie “2,000 Mules,” which used a flawed evaluation of cellphone location knowledge and poll drop field surveillance footage to forged doubt on the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election.
In response to the laws and conspiracy theories surrounding drop bins, the AP despatched a survey in Might to the highest elections workplace in every state searching for details about whether or not the bins had been tied to fraudulent votes or stolen ballots, or whether or not the bins and the ballots they contained had been broken.
All however 5 states responded to the questions.
Not one of the election places of work in states that allowed using drop bins in 2020 reported any situations wherein the bins had been linked to voter fraud or stolen ballots. Likewise, none reported incidents wherein the bins or ballots had been broken to the extent that election outcomes would have been affected.
A number of states mentioned they don't permit using drop bins whereas some had not allowed them earlier than the 2020 election, when the coronavirus pandemic prompted wider use of mailed ballots. In states the place they're used, secretaries of state or election commissioners might not be conscious of each incident involving a drop field if it was not reported to their workplace by a county or different native jurisdiction.
Drop bins have been a mainstay in states with in depth mail voting for years and had not raised any alarms. They had been used extensively in 2020 as election officers sought to supply alternative routes to forged ballots with the COVID-19 outbreak creating considerations about in-person voting and U.S. Postal Service delays.
Beginning months earlier than the 2020 presidential election, Trump and his allies have made a collection of unfounded claims suggesting that drop bins open the door to voter fraud. Republican state lawmakers, as a part of their push so as to add new voting restrictions, have in flip positioned guidelines round when and the place the bins could possibly be accessed.
Arizona Assistant Secretary of State Allie Bones mentioned drop bins are “secure and safe” and may even be thought of safer than Postal Service mailboxes. She mentioned bipartisan groups within the state gather ballots from the drop bins and take them on to safe election amenities, following so-called chain-of-custody protocols.
“To not say that there’s something flawed with USPS, and I believe they do a fantastic job as properly, however the hysteria round poll drop bins I believe is only a made-up factor to create doubt and concern,” Bones mentioned.
Arizona has had sturdy mail-in voting for years that features using drop bins, and within the AP survey, the state reported no injury, stolen ballots or fraud related to them in 2020. Nonetheless, Trump-aligned lawmakers within the state pushed for laws that will ban drop bins, however had been stymied by Democrats and several other Republicans who disagreed with the technique.
Of the states responding to the survey, 15 indicated that drop bins had been in use earlier than 2020 and 22 haven't any limits on what number of can be utilized on this fall’s election.
Republican-led Florida and North Dakota and Democratic-led New York didn't reply. Montana and Virginia did, however didn't reply the survey questions associated to the 2020 election.
Final 12 months, 5 states added new restrictions to poll drop bins, in response to analysis by the Voting Rights Lab. That included Georgia, the place President Joe Biden received a slender victory and the place drop bins had been allowed beneath an emergency rule prompted by the pandemic.
Georgia Republicans say their modifications have resulted in drop bins being a everlasting choice for voters, requiring all counties to have no less than one. However the laws, which features a system of 1 field per 100,000 registered voters, means fewer can be obtainable within the state’s most populous communities in contrast with 2020.
Together with incidents recorded in information reviews, the AP discovered a handful of circumstances in 2020 wherein drop bins had been broken.
Officers in Washington state mentioned there have been situations when drop bins had been hit by automobiles, however that no poll tampering had been reported. Massachusetts election officers mentioned one field was broken by arson in October 2020 however that many of the ballots inside had been nonetheless legible sufficient for voters to be recognized, notified and despatched replacements.
A drop field was set on fireplace in Los Angeles County in 2020, however an area election official mentioned the overwhelming majority of the ballots that had been broken had been capable of be recovered and voters supplied new ballots.
“The irony is that they had been put in place to answer an issue with the put up workplace and ensure folks had a safe approach of returning their ballots,” mentioned Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat. “And so there’s no precise reputable concern aside from, once more, potential exterior threats or individuals who have been radicalized by way of misinformation to attempt to tamper with drop bins to make some extent.”
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Izaguirre reported from Tallahassee, Florida. Related Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Hurt Venhuizen in Milwaukee; and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.
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