Macomb Today

As some local governments in key battleground states set up drop boxes for absentee ballots with grants from a nonprofit organization, Macomb County, isn’t among them.

The Center for Tech and Civic Life “pushes for left-of-center voting policies and election administration,” Influence Watch said on its website.

“No, not that I am aware of,” Fred Miller, Macomb's clerk/register of deeds told Macomb Today when asked whether the county had accepted grants from the group.

In the key battleground state of Wisconsin, the group has awarded grants to the cities of Green Bay, Kenosha, Madison, Milwaukee and Racine, Spectrum News reported.

“From ensuring that polling places are open and following the latest public health guidelines to providing options for voters to easily and securely return absentee ballots, to making certain that the incredible people who step up to serve as poll workers are protected and well-compensated for their service, we’re proud to partner with the five largest cities in Wisconsin to deliver a smooth voting process that inspires confidence,” said the center’s executive director, Tiana Epps-Johnson, in a July statement on the organization's website.

As with most issues in 2020, drop boxes have become a partisan concern, particularly in battleground states such as Nevada.

Democrats support drop boxes as an alternative for voters who don’t trust the U.S. Postal Service to deliver their ballots, Reuters reported. Republican officials are banning them in states such as Missouri.

President Trump's re-election campaign has sued states, including the battleground state of Pennsylvania, alleging that its receptacles will lead to fraud, Reuters and other news outlets have reported.

Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, recently announced a $250 million donation to The Center for Tech and Civic Life.

“Due to the unprecedented challenges COVID-19 will have on voting across the country, election officials are working around the clock to make sure that every voter has the ability to participate safely and have their vote counted,” Zuckerberg and Chan said in a statement. “Many counties and states are strapped financially and working to determine how to staff and fund operations that will allow ballots to be cast and counted in a timely way.”