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Iowa secretary of state says ballot drop boxes can't be used

Posted at 4:04 PM, Aug 26, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-26 17:04:05-04

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa's Republican secretary of state has issued instructions that counties cannot set up drop boxes to accept early ballots for this year's general election.

That comes despite not challenging the use of those boxes in more than a third of Iowa's counties in previous elections.

The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office recently told county auditors during training that Iowa law doesn't allow the use of drop boxes for ballots.

Scott County Auditor Roxanna Moritz told the Des Moines Register that 39 of Iowa's 99 counties indicated to her in recent days that they have previously used a dropbox system to collect ballots.