Senate committee backs bill to bar unmanned absentee drop boxes, citing fraud and damage risks

Sen. Tyler Deese (SD 35) presented Senate Bill 258, which would prohibit or tightly restrict unmanned absentee ballot drop boxes. Deese said the measure is meant to "shut the door" on potential ballot harvesting and other risks; Leslie Bellamy, director of elections for the Arkansas Secretary of State, testified the proposal helps place custody with the county clerk and cited several concerns: an unmanned box could be vandalized, set on fire, or "stuffed" with invalid ballots that would be difficult to trace.

Sen. Tucker and others repeatedly asked how a secured drop box differs from unsecured mail in terms of fraud risk; Bellamy and county‑experienced witnesses described scenarios where a designated bearer might improperly deliver many ballots or an unmanned box could allow unobserved delivery that avoids required logs. Bellamy said: "Bad ballots could actually be counted because once they're in, they're pretty much, untraceable." County contingency plans for emergency polling locations were discussed as potential mitigations; committee members asked whether an emergency exception should be written into law.

After extended questioning and discussion about rural counties' needs and contingency plans, the committee moved the bill. A motion to pass was made and seconded and the committee chair called for the ayes; the record shows an affirmative vote and the chair said the bill "passed." Several members expressed reservations (Sen. Tucker announced he would not vote for the bill), but the committee recorded the bill as advanced.