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Lincoln County commissioners weigh limiting ballot drop boxes; resolution to be drafted for March 4
Summary
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners discussed closing or restricting hours at ballot drop boxes in Troy and Libby to reduce staffing costs and safety burdens; the election administrator and local officials disagreed on the best approach. Commissioners asked staff to draft a resolution for the March 4 meeting.
Lincoln County commissioners discussed changing the locations and hours for the county’s ballot drop boxes at their Feb. 18 meeting, and directed staff to draft a resolution to return to the board on March 4. The changes under consideration would close the Troy drop box on Election Day (while leaving it available at other times), move the Libby box to the elections office, and keep the Eureka box as is.
The topic was raised after the county attorney and the elections office reached divergent interpretations of state law. Chair (speaker 1) said the county attorney suggested boxes need only be staffed on Election Day and that fully staffing remote boxes for the entire mail-in period could cost roughly $18,680 for a primary election. “It looks like the place of deposit do not need to be manned or do need to be manned on election day only,” the chair said, summarizing the attorney’s written advice.
Election administrator Melanie (speaker 6) told commissioners she had also asked the state and received a different reading. The state recommended that, if the county removed boxes, it should do so properly and pursue legislative clarification. Melanie described operational pressures on judges and staff at remote drop sites: “She said she served from 7AM until 08:30PM … it was 13 and a half hours with no bathroom,” Melanie said, recounting a judge’s experience at a dispatch location. She and other election officials said some counties have removed permanent boxes and used election‑day or drive‑up alternatives to reduce judge hours and public costs.
Local officials and residents urged caution. Mayor Boswell of Troy (speaker 8) said he did not support removing the Troy box and noted 106 ballots were dropped there in the last cycle. He offered Troy Police Department assistance to transport a box if needed and volunteered to help communicate any Election Day changes. Resident Brian Berryman (speaker 9) said keeping the box serves elderly residents and voters who distrust the mail.
Commissioner Durham (speaker 3) moved that the board close the Troy box on Election Day, move the Libby box to the elections office, and leave Eureka unchanged; the chair directed staff to draft a clear resolution reflecting those changes and bring it back on March 4 so the election administrator could attend. No second was recorded on the motion during the meeting. The board did not adopt any final change at this session and left question-of-record and timing details to the scheduled resolution.
Next steps: staff will prepare a formal resolution specifying which boxes will be open and when; the item is scheduled for the commissioners’ March 4 meeting to allow the election administrator to participate.
