How the humble ballot box became a political lighting rod

Ballot boxes have become politicized in swing states like Wisconsin lately, but the truth is that the humble, mailbox-lookalikes are a long-standing, safe and effective way to cast your vote—in fact they’re required or allowed in most states.

As early voting gets underway in earnest, and with Election Day fast approaching, we’re diving into all things ballot box. Here, we examine the history of ballot boxes, how they’ve changed, where you can find a ballot box near you, and why there’s been so much drama around them this election cycle.

What are ballot boxes?

Voting can be intimidating, and beyond that, going to a physical voting location can sometimes be difficult to manage, especially for people with disabilities, older adults, or even just those with a busy schedule.

Ballot drop boxes are designed to make voting easier. They’re sturdy, metal drop boxes one-way mail slots, much like a postal service collection box, that are placed in public by a local government official so voters can securely drop off their ballots at their convenience before Election Day.

Ballot boxes have been shown to increase voter turnout, researchers found after testing their impact in Pierce County, Washington, in 2017. The addition of five new drop boxes in the county that year led to a modest increase in turnout. What’s more, the closer a voter lived to a dropbox, the more likely they were to vote, according to the study, which was published by the MIT Election Data and Science Lab.

How do ballot boxes work, and where can I find one near me?

Voters who want to vote early or absentee might find drop boxes a convenient way to vote. You can find a drop box near you by checking with your local election office.

To vote using a drop box, put your completed ballot in the return envelope, fill out any information requested on the return envelope, and drop it in the slot of an authorized drop box before polls close on Election Day. Note that some states might require your return envelope to be notarized, and some states have rules around whether a family member or caregiver is allowed to return your ballot for you.

States have their own rules for how drop boxes should be secured. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recommends drop boxes be placed in convenient, accessible, high-visibility locations that are well-lit 24 hours a day and monitored by security cameras.

What’s the history of ballot boxes? How have they changed?

Americans once deposited their ballots in hats, but by the late 1800s, tamperproof boxes were a more common way for voters to cast their ballots, according to This Is What Democracy Looked Like: A Visual History of the Printed Ballot by Alicia Yin Cheng.

Drop boxes have been used in elections for years in states like Oregon and Washington, but the practice became more widespread during the 2020 election because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The increased number of drop boxes four years ago didn’t lead to widespread problems or cases of fraud, vandalism, or theft, state elections officials in Republican- and Democratic-controlled states told the Associated Press. Still, drop boxes have become politicized.

In Wisconsin, the state’s top court overturned a ban on ballot drop boxes in July, but the number of drop boxes has fallen from more than 500 in the state in 2020 to at least 78 as of this week, according to the the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The drop in drop boxes comes following sustained attacks on early voting by former President Donald Trump. Though drop boxes are legal in 27 states and the District of Columbia, they’re also banned in 12 mostly Southern, Republican-controlled states, according to the National Conference of State Legislature.

Why is there so much ballot box drama?

Trump has long disparaged drop boxes as part of his war on early voting, calling them a “voter security disaster” in 2020, and claiming without evidence “they make it possible for a person to vote multiple times.”

His attacks have worked. An NBC News poll released this week found a sharp partisan divide when it comes to when voters plan to cast their ballots. The poll found 57% of voters backing Vice President Kamala Harris say they either already have voted or plan to early vote, compared to 58% of Trump supporters who say they’re voting on Election Day.

Republicans are making efforts to boost early voting numbers this year, including mailers from the state party in Arizona promoting early voting and a campaign called “Swamp The Vote,” an early voting initiative with the Republican National Committee’s swing state organizing operation “Trump Force 47.” Still, with Republican voters less likely to cast their ballots before Election Day than Democrats, it’s clear Trump’s words and Republican attacks on methods to increase turnout like ballot drop boxes mean they’re leaving some early votes on the table.

Despite political attacks, ballot drop boxes are a safe and secure way to vote.