A Trump administration decision to repurpose an old chemotherapy drug for autism has surprised many experts — including the physician who recently proposed the idea.

Ohio and Republican groups including the Trump campaign are defending a GOP election chief's directive limiting ballot drop boxes in the critical presidential battleground to one per county. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster, File)COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio and Republican groups including the Trump campaign are fighting to uphold a GOP election chief's directive limiting ballot drop boxes in the presidential battleground to one per county. LaRose argued that the number of drop boxes per county must be uniform to be fair, and that lawmakers had made clear in a law passed this spring that ballots had to be mailed or personally delivered to county board directors. Interest in access to ballot drop boxes has increased nationally since spring primary voting was hampered by virus concerns, the U.S. It is often the more urban, Democrat-heavy counties that lean toward drop boxes.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio judge has temporarily blocked the Republican secretary of state’s order limiting counties in the critical presidential battleground to one ballot drop box, and the state and Republicans have appealed. The state immediately appealed, and the Ohio Republican Party followed suit late Thursday, placing the fate of the order on hold. The faceoff makes unclear how many drop boxes will be available to Ohio voters just 2 1/2 weeks before voting begins Oct. 6. Access to ballot drop boxes has become an urgent matter nationally amid the coronavirus pandemic, questions about mail-in voting security and cutbacks at the post office. The Ohio Republican Party lashed out at Frye as a “partisan judge" and accused him of colluding with fellow Democrats before issuing his decision.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A directive that restricted Ohio counties to one ballot drop box in November was arbitrary and unreasonable, a county judge ruled Tuesday, delivering the Republican secretary of state in the presidential battleground another in a series of blows to his policies. The office of Secretary of State Frank LaRose said he would soon appeal the decision by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Richard Frye, assuming the judge follows through and invalidates the secretary's drop-box order. It is often the largely Democratic urban counties — such as Cuyahoga, home to Cleveland — that look to expand the number of drop boxes. The Ohio Democratic Party and a coalition of voting rights group sued LaRose last month over the directive, calling it unconstitutional. LaRose cited a state election law that says absentee ballots must be “delivered by mail or personally” to a voter’s county election director.