Some ballot harvesting operations illegally subvert every part of the ballot by mail process. They register voters that are highly unlikely to vote, submit Applications for Ballot by Mail (ABBMs) in the names of those people, steal the ballots before they get to the mailbox, fill them out, and send them in without the people having any idea that they ever voted. That method is clearly a crime and must be stopped.
There is another method, though, that is just as despicable and perhaps even more so because it is done under the guise of assistance. These harvesters look the voters in the eyes and smile while they steal their votes and their voices.
At Advancing Integrity we want every eligible voter to be able to cast a ballot that is secret and secure. The only way to fully achieve this is for the voter to cast their vote in-person inside a polling location. However, for some voters this is not an option and that is why we have the ballot by mail system.
Citizens who vote by mail are often the elderly, disabled, and those who speak English as a second language, people who may want or need assistance with their ballot. Ballot harvesters, strangers, know these voters are vulnerable and show up at their doors offering to help. They then use manipulation tactics to ensure the ballot is marked for their candidates, regardless of the voter’s intentions.
Here is how it works:
A man receives a ballot in the mail and soon after the ballot arrives there is a knock at the door. A smiling woman is standing there offering to help fill out the ballot as usual. She is kind, and looks like she could be his sister, or his cousin, and she speaks his first language. Or, he is elderly, lonely and welcomes the company. The woman asks if he has received his ballot and he invites her to come in and sit at the table while he retrieves it. Asking for his candidate choices and nodding, she completes the ballot. Then she places it inside the security envelope, inside the carrier envelope, fills in his information, and seals it. After he signs his name to the back of the carrier envelope, she takes it and puts it into the outgoing mail. The man is grateful for the help and knows someone will be back again next time.
This sounds like a completely innocent incident. The woman sounds like a noble volunteer helping out a voter. That may be the case and some would argue that is always the case. However, there can be a much darker side to these encounters.
Is he actually eligible?
The elderly are the preferred prey of harvesters because anyone over the age of 65 has the option of voting by mail. The other option for harvesters is the disabled, but they don’t actually have to be disabled. As was the case in Gregg County, harvesters can simply check the box for disabled, with or without the knowledge of the voter, and harvest anyone’s ballot. There is no requirement to prove disability or even indicate the type of disability. Perfectly healthy people who are able to vote in person can become victims of these schemes. The illegality of marking the “disabled” box isn’t important to a vote harvester.
Who requested the ballot?
In cases of organized ballot harvesting the voter is often not the one who requests the ballot, the harvesters submit the application. In the past this process was incredibly easy.
Prior to 2017 a harvester could go around and collect signatures for a petition on an iPad or tablet, transfer those signatures to an application for ballot by mail, print it out, and fax it into the elections office. Then the above scenario would happen, the signatures would match, and the voter would think the county just mailed them a ballot each election. Most people don’t know that they have to apply at least once each calendar year. Fortunately, in 2017 Senate Bill 5 became law and made these electronic signatures illegal. A faxed in application may be sent to meet the deadline, but must be followed by a physical or “wet” signature, ink on paper.
SB 5 and other laws passed that year slowed down the harvesting process, but didn’t stop it. Many harvesting operations resorted to just forging the signatures, relying on lazy, incompetent, or corrupt Signature Verification Committees and Ballot Boards to just wave them through. Sadly, this was often the case. Many were bullied into accepting clearly forged signatures or were just too afraid of disenfranchising a voter to reject these votes. Some Ballot Boards skipped over signature verification just to save time.
Skipping the signature verification process became even more prevalent when voters were asked to begin providing the last 4 digits of their social security number or their driver’s license number on their application and carrier envelope. Some County Clerks and Election Administrators interpreted the law to mean that those numbers would qualify as the voter ID and the signature verification was no longer needed.
Did he actually see how she filled it out?
This is the most insidious part of the harvesting operation. This is when the harvester looks the voter in the eyes, smiles, and steals his vote and his voice. She listens to his choices, but marks the ballot the way she was paid to complete it. Whether she believes the ends justify the means or she just wants to make some money, she ignores the voter and does her job. She distracts him with conversation so he doesn’t ask to look at it before she puts it in the envelope.
If he does ask to watch her while she marks it and he chooses her candidates’ opponents she is sure to offer to drop the ballot in the nearest mailbox. Unfortunately it instead ends up in the nearest dumpster. If she can’t get a vote for her slate, she will destroy the votes against them.
Is every person who assists a voter an illegal harvester? No. Are there legal ways to assist a voter who needs it? Absolutely. Check out our Quick Guide for Voting by Mail for more details.