### UPDATE: Since the initial writing of this article, we were able to make use of some of our existing equipment in a non-traditional way to accommodate the collection of vote by mail ballots. We will add drop boxes at these four early voting locations: City of McHenry, Village of Lake in the Hills, Dole Mansion, and McHenry Township building. Thanks for your feedback. ###
With the passing on SB1863 to address COVID impacts on elections, counties were given the option of implementing ballot drop boxes or "collection sites" for the upcoming November election. McHenry county will have one such drop box located at the County Administration Building at 667 Ware Rd, Woodstock. Why not more than one? Here are some of the considerations that led our team to this decision.
Daily Maintenance:
Each site would have to be visited at least once daily to remove and transport the ballots back to the office for processing. Additional sites would mean involving additional vehicles, personnel, security technology, etc. At one site, on our location, it's very manageable and cost effective using existing resources. Beyond that, the costs and logistics become a significant consideration.
Item Cost and installation:
The drop box we chose for the County Administration Building cost just under $3,000. They take up to eight weeks for fabrication and delivery. It is built of thick stainless steel, has three locks on it and it has a very narrow deposit slot to help prevent ne'er do wells from putting anything thicker than an envelope in there. It is bolted to a concrete pad and protected by two, concrete-filled, cast iron bollards. The concrete pad and bollards cost $2,395. This is the same kind of installation as you would find for an ATM, and I think reasonable given what it is protecting. Duplicating this at 20-50 locations (or more, then add spares) is a considerable cost.
Security:
Optimally, we would want to physically secure them in a way that is similar to the one installed at the Admin Building. Lighting and video surveillance are recommended (I'd say required). Fortunately, we have that already in place at the Admin Building. In other locations we'd have to find a way to provide that, or, if the location we were partnering with had video, we'd have to figure out how to get unrestricted access to it. These requirements are serious considerations when choosing a site and would likely narrow the field considerably. Choosing to do less would be irresponsible.
Equitable site selection:
The issue of site selection presents a similar issue to that of polling place selection. The idea, obviously, is to put them in places accessible by the community. Once you put that circle on the map, finding a place inside that circle that checks all the boxes for security and access can be a tougher challenge than you might expect. Furthermore, when the choice is made to put one here rather than there, the people who live nearer "there" may perceive that they are being particularly (and perhaps, intentionally) disadvantaged somehow. If we are allowed to use drop boxes again at some point in the future, I will propose to chair a committee populated by a bipartisan selection of County Board members from all districts to develop rules to govern placement and plans to solve the issue of funding.
Every mail box is a drop box:
Despite the noise about the USPS lately, the Post Office has been a reliable way to transport mail for generations and everyone has access to the mail. It has been so reliable that ,in other states vote by mail is the default means of voting. Having said that, the USPS is not without its faults and limitations. First class mail (which is how our ballots are sent and returned) is expected to arrive at its destination within 5 days of its arrival at the first post office. As grown-ups, we know that it is going to be busier than usual. So, it would be prudent of us to consider getting your ballot in sooner rather than later. Other election jurisdictions around the country tell me that half of the ballots will come in the last week before election day. If I were planning to vote by mail, I might want to get my ballot in before that last week. To improve confidence and accountability, this year you will have the ability to track your vote-by-mail ballots much like a UPS package. You can even sign up for alerts regarding your ballot's status.
There are 123 USPS blue collection boxes within 20 miles of Woodstock. To find the one closest to you, visit https://tools.usps.com/find-location.htm
Closing the boxes on Election Day:
At 7:00 PM on election day, each of the boxes will need to be closed, requiring at least two judges at each location as the clock strikes seven. Recruiting judges for in-person voting is a significant challenge and any Judges we have, need to be focused on that work at this point.
Obsolescence:
This is the real deal killer to adding any more boxes in my mind. The law that allows us to have them for this election, expires on January 1st, 2021. I can't even use the one I have for the municipal elections in 2021.
I hope this serves to answer some of your questions. If not, please do not hesitate to write me at jjtirio@mchenrycountyil.gov.
