No person shall transmit or deliver more than 10 advance voting ballots on behalf of other voters during an election.[3]. In most states, you can drop off a ballot for someone else but there might be restrictions. There will also be in-person polling sites that open Sept. 4, plus drop-off boxes, with the exact number depending where you live. In most states, you can drop off a ballot for someone else but there might be restrictions. Under Pennsylvania law, voters must return their own ballots. (2)Any person who assists another person in voting by use of an absentee ballot by mail or on a voting machine in the county clerk's office or other place designated by the county board of elections, and approved by the State Board of Elections, shall complete the voter assistance form required by KRS 117.255. In Georgia, a voter with a physical disability may have their absentee ballot returned by a family member (defined by the law) or a household member. I HAVE COMPLIED WITH THE ARKANSAS LAW. In most states, you can drop off a ballot for someone else but there might be restrictions. Laws allowing ballot collection make voting more convenient, but they have been criticized by some who say they increase risk of voter fraud. Those who support restricting who may return mail ballots often refer to the practice of campaign and union workers returning ballots as ballot harvesting. Mail it to your county elections official; Drop it off at a ballot drop box or location or at a polling location anywhere in the state; You can also ask someone you trust to return your ballot for you, but the Secretary of State's office cautions that the person can only do so if they don't get paid by the ballot As used in this section, "delivery agent" means: (d) As a result, election officials were barred from enforcing these requirements. [3], [An Arizona law stating that only family members, caregivers, and household members may return someone's ballot] burdens communities that have traditionally relied on ballot collection, such as the elderly, differently-abled, Native American, and Latino communities, by preventing them from casting a ballot in the manner that is easiest for them.[3]. But the film showed no evidence that the individuals it showed on surveillance tapes were part of a ballot scheme, and a state investigation found that at least one person featured in the film was legally dropping off ballots of family members. But the film showed no evidence that the individuals it showed on surveillance tapes were part of a ballot scheme, and a state investigation found that at least one person featured in the film was legally dropping off ballots of family members. ", Tennessee law does not specify whether someone may return mail ballots on behalf of voters.[1]. In most states, the answer is yes but there might be restrictions. if(document.getElementsByClassName("reference").length==0) if(document.getElementById('Footnotes')!==null) document.getElementById('Footnotes').parentNode.style.display = 'none'; Communications: Alison Graves Carley Allensworth Abigail Campbell Sarah Groat Caitlin Vanden Boom A delivery agent cannot more than two completed absentee/mail-in ballots per election.[8]. county clerk, at the designated place of deposit or After the 2020 election, a discredited film claimed without evidence that a multistate network of Democrat-aligned ballot mules were paid to illegally collect and drop off ballots in five states. Other states dont have laws on ballot collection at all. Election security experts say that voter fraud is rare among all forms of voting, including by mail and at drop boxes. In that instance, the authorized messenger shall personally deliver the absentee ballot to the precinct superintendent of the voter's home precinct. (D) Possession of an absentee ballot with the intent to defraud a voter or an election official is a felony under 7-1-104. (c) The person designated as agent shall, by signed affidavit on a form prescribed by the Board, state the following: (1) That the ballot will be delivered by the voter who submitted the application for the ballot; and. USPS recommends mailing your ballot back at least 7 days before Election Day. The law places restrictions on who can assist eligible voters. In Colorado, vote-by-mail ballots can be delivered on a voter's behalf by any person they choose. The film also pointed to cellphone geolocation data, which experts say is not precise enough to identify whether someone used a drop box or simply traveled near it. In most states, the answer is yes but there might be restrictions. Justice Samuel Alito delivered the majority opinion of the court. If conduct that constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.[3]. In these cases, the voter may entrust the voted ballot to someone elsean agent or designeeto return the ballot. Sometimes a voter may be unable to return the ballot in person or get it to a postal facility in time for it to be counted. Can I drop off someone else's ballot in a ballot drop box (such as my spouse or friend's ballot)? (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), on a voter's request for assistance in marking the ballot, two election officers shall provide the assistance. Can someone else pick up my mail-in ballot? An election inspector looks at an absentee ballot as vote counting in the general . (c) The voter is serving on a sequestered jury on Election Day. election.[3]. provided, however, that this prohibition shall not apply to a voter's near It does specify that a notary public may not do so. sign the agent's name before receiving the ballot and deposit with the auditor or However, in 2020, when the use of drop boxes spiked because of the coronavirus pandemic, some criticized the practice. Justice Elena Kagan filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. [7], On June 8, 2021, Governor Kim Reynolds (R) signed SF568 into law, making a series of changes to Iowa's absentee/mail-in voting laws. Laws allowing ballot collection make voting more convenient, but they have been criticized by some who say they increase risk of voter fraud. How do I return my ballot?. The incapacitated voter shall vote the absentee ballot as provided by law and mark it in the presence of the designated representative. 1. (g) An offense under Subsection (f) is a Class A misdemeanor unless the defendant possessed the ballot or carrier envelope without the request of the voter, in which case it is a felony of the third degree. An Associated Press survey in May 2022 found that among states that used drop boxes in the 2020 presidential election, none reported instances of drop boxes being involved in fraud that could have affected the results. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person may not knowingly collect a voter's voted or unvoted ballot. 722.1 A duly registered voter may apply for an emergency absentee ballot, through a duly authorized agent, at the office of the Board from the sixth (6th) day prior to any election to the time the polls close on Election Day, under the following circumstances: (a) The voter is physically unable to be present at the polls as the result of an illness or accident occurring after the deadline for requesting to vote absentee by mail; (b) The voter, having expected to recover from an illness by Election Day and vote at the polls, finds that after the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot by mail has passed, he or she is physically unable to vote at the poll on Election Day; or. (B) A designated bearer shall at no time have more than two (2) ballots in his or her possession; External Relations: Moira Delaney Hannah Nelson Caroline Presnell There is a provision in the Elections Code for a voter who, because of illness or other physical disability, is unable to return his or her ballot. To an immediate family member or to a 3rd person if the absentee ballot was requested by telephone or by electronic means; [2011, c. 534, 17 (AMD).] (1) (A) An administrator may deliver to the county clerk an application for an absentee ballot for any voter who is a patient of a long-term care or residential care facility licensed by the state and who authorizes the administrator to obtain an absentee ballot on his or her behalf. Laws in seven states and D.C. only allow another person to return a voter's ballot if that voter meets specific criteria, such as having a disability or qualifying for an emergency ballot. Election security experts say that voter fraud is rare among all forms of voting, including by mail and at drop boxes. A person in a healthcare facility may return it to the election official who delivered the ballot or, at the clerk's discretion, to an individual designated in writing who is not a candidate. [3], KRS 117.255 contains the following: "Except for those voters who have been certified as requiring assistance on a permanent basis, no voter shall be permitted to receive any assistance in voting at the polls unless he makes and signs an oath that, because of blindness, other physical disability, or an inability to read English, he is unable to vote without assistance. ], 3. Submit them at: FactCheck@AP.org. Missouri law states that "each absentee ballot that is not cast by the voter in person in the office of the election authority shall be returned to the election authority in the ballot envelope and shall only be returned by the voter in person, or in person by a relative of the voter who is within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, by mail or registered carrier or by a team of deputy election authorities; except that covered voters, when sent from a location determined by the secretary of state to be inaccessible on election day, shall be allowed to return their absentee ballots cast by use of facsimile transmission or under a program approved by the Department of Defense for electronic transmission of election materials.". It also states that the third person cannot have more than five absentee ballots outstanding at a time. B. On Wednesday, an appeals court upheld a 2016 Arizona law banning people from picking up and dropping off other voters' ballots. Notwithstanding subdivision (d), a ballot shall not be disqualified from being counted solely because it was returned or mailed more than three days after the designated person received it from the voter, provided that the ballot is returned by the designated person before the close of polls on election day. (2) Designate a duly registered voter to serve as agent for the purpose of delivering the absentee ballot to the voter, except than an officer of the court in charge of a jury sequestered on election day may act as agent for any registered voter sequestered regardless of whether the officer is a registered voter in the District. California law states that a person voting by mail ballot may designate another person to return the ballot if the voter cannot do so themselves and that those who return ballots on behalf of others may not receive compensation based on the number of ballots returned. (2) That the ballot shall be marked by the voter and placed in a sealed envelope in the agents presence, and returned, under seal to the Board by the agent. In Indiana, an absentee ballot may be returned by a voter's household member or attorney in fact. Instead, you can drop it off in the location in your jurisdiction. (3)A person in charge of a vote by mail ballot and who knowingly and willingly engages in criminal acts related to that ballot as described in Division 18 (commencing with Section 18000 ), including, but not limited to, fraud, bribery, intimidation, and tampering with or failing to deliver the ballot in a timely fashion, is subject to the appropriate punishment specified in that division.[3]. cannot provide a signed, written authorization from an applicant. State laws vary in the details and exact application of their restrictions. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters. Am I allowed to drop off a ballot for someone else? (2)For purposes of this paragraph, compensation means any form of monetary payment, goods, services, benefits, promises or offers of employment, or any other form of consideration offered to another person in exchange for returning another voter's vote by mail ballot. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) The Associated Press. For the purposes of this paragraph: (a) "Caregiver" means a person who provides medical or health care assistance to the voter in a residence, nursing care institution, hospice facility, assisted living center, assisted living facility, assisted living home, residential care institution, adult day health care facility or adult foster care home. Application or written request received. New Hampshire law specifies that a voter's absentee ballot may be returned by a family member (defined by the law), nursing home administrator or staff member, or residential care facility administrator or staff member. In most states, the answer is yes but there might be . Surveys after the 2020 election found that voters who cast ballots for President Joe Biden were far more likely to report voting by mail than voters for Trump. It establishes the collection of early ballots by anyone outside those groups as a class 6 felony. Returning ballots for others is known as ballot collection or, pejoratively, "ballot harvesting." Tech: Matt Latourelle Nathan Bingham Ryan Burch Kirsten Corrao Beth Dellea Travis Eden Tate Kamish Margaret Kearney Eric Lotto Joseph Sanchez. If the authorized messenger requests a receipt when returning the absentee ballot, the person in charge of the election shall provide the authorized messenger a receipt. To any 3rd person who is a candidate or a member of a candidate's immediate family; [2011, c. 399, 23 (NEW).] On July 1, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee. Surveys after the 2020 election found that voters who cast ballots for President Joe Biden were far more likely to report voting by mail than voters for Trump. Any person who makes a false certification violates the provisions of article nine of this chapter and is subject to those provisions.". Am I allowed to drop off a ballot for someone else? In Texas, a household member, relative (defined by the law) or person lawfully assisting a voter eligible for assistance due to disability or inability to read the ballot may return their mail ballot. Of early ballots by anyone outside those groups as a class 6 felony some who say they increase of... Sonia Sotomayor laws on ballot collection make voting more convenient, but they have been criticized by who! Associated Press 's household member or attorney in fact laws on ballot collection make voting convenient... Establishes the collection of early ballots by anyone outside those groups as a class 6 felony Samuel. 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