Share
News

GOP Launches New Attack in Escalating Battle Against Voter Fraud

Share

As President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign challenged a new Nevada voting law in court, the president and Republicans argued the rules would facilitate fraud and illegal voting. Chief among their criticisms was a provision allowing “ballot harvesting.”

The Nevada lawsuit highlighted a practice that has long fueled Republicans’ suspicions about mail-in voting.

The rule permitting a third party to collect and return multiple ballots remains a source of partisan dispute. Those fights are likely to continue up to Election Day as states adjust their laws.

More than half of states allow a third party to collect ballots.

Trump and the GOP contend ballot harvesting opens the door for fraud and have fought to restrict it. This has escalated as states prepare for greater reliance on absentee voting ahead of the November election.

Trending:
KJP Panics, Hangs Up in Middle of Interview When Reporter Shows He Isn't a Democratic Party Propagandist

“This is not new ground,” Nevada’s Democratic Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson said in a statement.

“Allowing someone to assist a voter in turning in their ballot helps protect vulnerable populations, including our tribal and rural communities.”

This year, Republicans and Democrats have squared off in lawsuits over the third-party collection of ballots in Pennsylvania, Florida and Minnesota.

In Wisconsin, a conservative law firm known as the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty requested that election officials outlaw the process.

Should ballot harvesting be illegal?

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year struck down a 2016 law passed by Republicans in Arizona that made it a felony for someone besides a voter’s family member or caregiver to return an absentee ballot.

While the appeals court sided with Democrats who had sued to challenge the law, the ruling is on hold while the state’s Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the meantime, the ballot collection restriction remains in force for the 2020 election.

In Nevada, an easing of ballot collection rules was included in a new law that calls for automatically sending ballots to all active voters this November.

Trump’s reelection campaign, the Republican National Committee and Nevada GOP filed a lawsuit last week asking a judge to strike down the law. The complaint makes a brief mention of ballot harvesting, alleging that it is among changes that “facilitate fraud and other illegitimate voting practices.”

Nevada’s Democratic attorney general asked a judge this past week to dismiss the lawsuit. A hearing has not yet been held.

Related:
Pro-Trump Lawyer Arrested on Charges Related to Dominion Voting Machines After Attending Hearing for Client

Nevada is among 26 other states allowing voters to broadly designate someone to drop off their ballot.

About a dozen of those states have imposed limits on how many ballots a person can submit. Minnesota limits a person to collecting and returning three ballots, for example.

California since 2016 has allowed for someone to collect an unlimited number of ballots from voters, though it does bar someone from being paid based on how many ballots they return.

California’s law became the source of controversy and GOP criticism after Democrats used the practice to their advantage in 2018, flipping Republican-held congressional seats after a flood of absentee ballots came in and were counted after Election Day.

“On the one hand, there’s going to be much more need for the use of absentee ballots because of the potential safety concerns of voting in person,” Richard L. Hasen, a law professor and elections expert at the University of California, Irvine, said.

“On the other hand, there are going to be more people who are going to be receiving absentee ballots and more potential for interfering with them.”

Hasen said that’s particularly true for states like Nevada that plan to send ballots to voters in the mail regardless of whether they requested one.

Nevada’s law does not include limits on how many ballots can be collected or restrictions on payment. It does allow someone to be charged with a felony for blocking the ballot from being submitted or failing to return it after being entrusted to do so.

In addition to expanding ballot collection, Nevada’s law also allows voters who are over 65, have a disability or are unable to read or write to have someone assist them in physically marking their ballot. Those provisions have also drawn criticism from Trump.

Nevada requires anyone assisting a voter in physically marking a ballot to include a written statement with the name, address and signature of the person who assisted the voter.


[jwplayer QcwbKT0W]

The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , , , , , ,
Share
The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City. Their teams in over 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting. They provide content and services to help engage audiences worldwide, working with companies of all types, from broadcasters to brands. Photo credit: @AP on Twitter
The Associated Press was the first private sector organization in the U.S. to operate on a national scale. Over the past 170 years, they have been first to inform the world of many of history's most important moments, from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the fall of the Shah of Iran and the death of Pope John Paul.

Today, they operate in 263 locations in more than 100 countries relaying breaking news, covering war and conflict and producing enterprise reports that tell the world's stories.
Location
New York City




Conversation