I have often appealed to the down-to-earth logic of our Times News readers in determining how much sense certain laws and rules and regulations make. I am asking you to think about the illogical rule that says that one person cannot drop off the ballot of another person in the same household into one of the area’s drop boxes.

Logical or not, however, this is the law, and I am not for a moment suggesting that we flout the law, but I do recommend changing it.

First some background: Jim Martin, the long-serving Republican Lehigh County District Attorney at 24 years and counting, announced last month that his office spot-checked video surveillance from five county-approved drop box locations and found that nearly 300 people dropped in more than one ballot during the general election last November.

It is likely that at least some of them unknowingly broke the law because they were unaware of the requirement that only their ballot can be deposited, not those of family members and, possibly, friends. Certificate of designated agent forms can be obtained to drop off a ballot of someone who is physically unable to do so.

Martin views what happened as technical violations rather than attempts at fraud. In many cases, he said, it was impossible to tell how many ballots were being deposited. Among those who broke the law, it appears as if they dropped one or two other ballots, a few even more than that, Martin said. One thing that needs to be done immediately, he said, is to make the one-ballot requirement notice more prominent on instruction materials.

He said that because of grainy surveillance footage and the fact that most people were wearing masks because of the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying everyone is “next to impossible.” As a result of this, Martin said no one will be prosecuted for the 2021 infractions, but that will not be the case starting with this month’s primaries.

Martin has now served notice that along with surveillance footage, county detectives assigned to his office will spot check the five county drop boxes, and that violators could be prosecuted.

“If voters are observed dropping off more than one ballot, they may face prosecution and could be exposed to fines and penalties not to exceed $2,500 or be imprisoned for a term up to two years, or both, as provided in the state Election Code,” Martin said in a news release.

Martin’s hard-nosed response brought immediate pushback from three Democratic legislators who represent parts of Lehigh County - Mike Schlossberg, Peter Schweyer and Jeanne McNeill. They criticized Martin’s heavy-handedness and promised to introduce legislation that would allow those in the same household to deliver all of the ballots from that household.

Martin’s announcement also drew a sharp response from Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley, who claims that Martin’s actions are an overreach and could wind up intimidating voters. Pinsley believes that having county detectives near drop boxes could be a violation of the Election Code, which forbids law enforcement officers to be present at polling places unless summoned by that voting district’s judge of election.

Martin said Pinsley is barking up the wrong tree, because drop boxes are not polling places. In addition, the detectives will be in plainclothes so there is no chance of the intimidation of prospective voters.

“DA Martin said he was putting voters on notice. It’s time someone put Jim Martin on notice,” Pinsley said. “It’s pretty easy to connect the dots, the Lehigh County Republican chair (Joseph Vichot) requests an investigation into drop boxes, a countywide Republican DA opposed to drop boxes does their bidding, and days later Sen. (Pat) Browne (R-Lehigh) and Republicans pass legislation to get rid of drop boxes. It’s time Lehigh County officials stand up for voting,” Pinsley added.

To underscore who’s boss, Martin said, “I am going to enforce the law as I see fit. If anybody interferes with my authority as district attorney, I will charge them with obstruction of justice.”

In announcing plans for the introduction of corrective legislation, Schlossberg said it is time to allow a spouse or blood relative to return the ballot of a family member without red tape.

Here is where I ask you to consider the logic involved with this issue. To post a mail-in ballot, there are no restrictions against how many envelopes a person drops into a U.S. Postal Service mailbox. From a security standpoint, I don’t see how this is any different from a drop box. As long as the ballot envelopes and their contents have been filled out properly and have not been tampered with, who drops them off should not make a difference. Any security issues will be determined once the ballot envelope is opened and its contents are scrutinized for signature and other legal conformities.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.