§ 2543a. Provision of secure ballot drop boxes
(a) A board of civil authority may vote to install one or more secure outdoor ballot drop
boxes (drop boxes) for the return of voted ballots.
(b) Drop boxes shall be located on municipal property. If a town has only one drop box,
it shall be located on the property of the municipal clerk’s office.
(c) Drop boxes shall allow for the return of ballots by voters at any time of day and
must be available for the return of ballots not later than 43 days before the election.
(d) Drop boxes shall be installed and maintained in accordance with guidance issued by
the Secretary of State’s office. At a minimum, drop boxes shall:
(1) be affixed to a foundation or other immovable object such that they cannot be removed
without being tampered with;
(2) be under 24-hour video surveillance or in the alternative be within sight of the municipal
building;
(3) be constructed in such a manner that it is impossible to remove the ballots without
the ballot box being tampered with; and
(4) be able to be closed such that ballots may not be deposited once the deadline for
deposit has passed.
(e)(1) Ballots may be deposited in the drop boxes until the close of business on the day
before the election. At the close of business, the drop box shall be closed and instructions
affixed to the drop box instructing the voter to return the voter’s voted ballot to
the polling place on the day of the election.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1) of this subsection, a board of civil authority may
vote to allow ballots to be deposited in the drop boxes until not later than the closing
of the polls on election day.
(f) The Secretary of State’s office shall provide drop boxes to a town or city upon request
following a vote of the board of civil authority. The maximum number of drop boxes
that the Secretary of State’s office shall provide in any town or city shall be as
follows:
(1) up to 5,000 registered voters, one;
(2) between 5,000 and 10,000 registered voters, two;
(3) between 10,000 and 15,000 registered voters, three;
(4) between 15,000 and 20,000 registered voters, four; and
(5) over 20,000 registered voters, five.
(6) A town or city may have a number of secure drop boxes equal to the number of representative
districts in that town or city, with one drop box located in each district, if that
number is greater than the number allowed based on that town or city’s number of registered
voters in subdivisions (1)-(5) of this subsection. If there is not suitable municipal
property for the location of a secure drop box in the area covered by a certain district
in the town or city, an alternative location may be used with the approval of the
Secretary of State’s office. (Added 2021, No. 60, § 11, eff. June 7, 2021.)