A ballot drop box provides a secure and convenient means for voters to return their mail ballot. Ballot boxes prevent anyone from accessing the votes cast until the close of the voting period. A drop box is a secure, locked structure operated by election officials where voters may deliver their ballots from the time they receive them in the mail up to the time polls close on Election Day. Ballot drop boxes can be staffed or unstaffed, temporary, or permanent. They are however always secure and are manufactured in a way that prevents tampering.