The county has stopped requiring photo identification for mail-in ballot drop-offs a day after the Butler Eagle reported on objections to the practice.

It has additionally halted its process of matching signatures on the ballots to those on voter registrations.

County Commissioner Kevin Boozel noted the change in the identification policy Thursday during a news conference on missing mail-in-ballots. Previously, the commissioners and county solicitor required voters who were dropping off their mail-in ballots to present a photo ID, a requirement the American Civil Liberties Union said was illegal. Boozel said they stopped asking for identification after the Pennsylvania Department of State sent them “new guidance.”

Butler County Solicitor Wil White said Wednesday that the Department of State, which oversees elections, hadn’t told him to stop asking for identification.

Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said in a news conference Thursday that the department sent a communication to Butler County on Wednesday to inform it that both voter ID checks and signature matching ran afoul of state law.

“We’re making it very clear that that’s not authorized,” she said.

In January 2014, the Commonwealth Court struck down the state’s 2012 law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. Last week, the state Supreme Court ruled that ballots cannot be rejected solely on signature comparisons.

Boockvar said that a few other counties in the state had reached out to her office about whether they could require IDs, but singled out Butler County as one that had actually implemented such a policy.

Sara Rose, an ACLU senior staff attorney, said the civil rights organization also told White the county’s requirement is illegal.

“The commissioners are the ones insisting on identification. We think that’s very problematic,” Rose said. “Certainly, they could ask, ‘Is this your ballot?’ or if someone is trying to drop off more than one, that’s not permitted. But to ask every voter for an identification, in our perspective, they’re in violation of state law.”

Rose said that there is no state law that allows the county to verify signatures. Boockvar concurred and argued the mail-in balloting process already has more safeguards built in to prevent voter fraud than in-person ballots. She also said counties are permitted to ask questions.

“It’s perfectly fine for a county to say, ‘Is this your ballot that you’re delivering, or are you an authorized agent?’” she said.

While Boockvar did not address the recent woes facing Butler County relating to mailing ballots to voters, she did note that, with five days until Election Day — and the current challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court to the extension to receive ballots that was granted by the state high court — physically taking a ballot to the courthouse might be a better option for voters.