EXCLUSIVE: Secretary of State candidate Robert Sprague criticizes Democratic pro-ballot drop box bill
Republican Ohio Secretary of State candidate and current Ohio Treasurer of State Robert Sprague criticized his Democratic opponent, state Rep. Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, for introducing a bill to place ballot drop boxes at every polling location.
“Allison Russo opposes photo ID to vote and now wants to install more than 8,000 drop boxes across Ohio, an increase of 10,000 percent. If you were looking for a way to completely gut election security in Ohio, these are the two policies that would do it,” Sprague’s campaign manager, Dalton Throckmorton, told Ohio.News exclusively in an email.
During an interview last year with Ohio.News, Sprague promised to continue Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s voting integrity legacy, defend closed primaries, and prevent political partisanship.
The comment from Sprague’s campaign came after Russo and state Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst, introduced a bill last week to provide absentee ballot drop boxes at every polling place and to allow absentee ballots to be dropped off at any box within the county in which they were issued, according to the press release.
“A healthy and vibrant democratic republic ensures that as many voices as possible are heard,” Miller said in a release. “Our bill upholds that principle by providing reasonable and fair options to registered Ohio voters. Recent changes in state law have left many of our constituents worried that their vote will not count. This bill uses a commonsense approach that will maintain election security while responsibly relieving the burden placed on them by SB 293.”
Russo added in the press release that “free and fair elections” depend not only on the right to vote but also on “the ability to exercise that right without barriers.”
“Many people rely on absentee ballots, whether they are seniors, people with disabilities, college students away from home, or workers and caregivers whose schedules make in-person voting difficult,” she said in a release. “Making the return of absentee ballots more straightforward, reliable, and convenient ensures that these voters are not left out of the democratic process.”
Another Democratic Secretary of State candidate, Bryan Hambley, supported the bill in a statement to the Statehouse News Bureau.
“I am happy to see any legislation proposed that would make it easier for Ohioans to vote. As I have traveled the state for the last year and a half campaigning, I have heard loud and clear from Ohioans that they want a democracy that is accessible and secure,” he said in the statement.
If Russo wins the race and becomes Secretary of State, she is more likely to undo LaRose’s voting-related legacy based on her rhetoric and actions, including the introduction of the bill.
LaRose previously opposed ballot drop boxes, issuing a directive to the board of elections on Aug. 31, 2024, stating that only the voter can place an absentee ballot they’re casting into a ballot drop box during early voting.
The Ohio Supreme Court later upheld LaRose’s order, with the Ohio Democrats saying that the ruling is a “voter intimidation,” according to another report by the Statehouse News Bureau.
