Newly passed legislation that would ban ballot harvesting in Mississippi is being challenged in court by several civil rights organizations that claim it would harm minority voters and those with disabilities.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Mississippi Center for Justice, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU-MS, and Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS) filed a federal lawsuit challenging S.B. 2358, legislation which would prevent a third party from collecting an absentee ballot from a voter and delivering it to a polling place. It’s due to take effect on July 1.
“Across the country, we’ve seen how bad actors have used ballot harvesting to take advantage of elderly and vulnerable voters in other states—all so they can try to circumvent our democratic process and cut you out of it. But here in Mississippi, we’re just not going to let that happen. Here, we will make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. I was proud to sign Senate Bill 2358,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves told The Epoch Times.
The governor’s office describes ballot harvesting as a process where a political operative collects and handles massive amounts of absentee ballots and maintains the practice could take advantage of elderly and vulnerable voters.
“National Democrats are pushing for a federal takeover of elections and are advocating to push ballot harvesting on states all across the U.S. This is nothing more than a blatant political power grab, and we must continue standing up to them,” he said.
Meanwhile, plaintiffs in the lawsuit argue the new law would do the opposite by disenfranchising and preventing minorities or those with disabilities from voting.
“Anti-voter politicians are trying to deny a fair voice in government to Mississippians with disabilities while criminalizing their friends and neighbors who want to help them deliver absentee ballots,” said Ahmed Soussi, staff attorney for voting rights with the SPLC. “This bill would diminish American democracy by punishing volunteers who facilitate voting for historically discriminated against communities.”
Voting rights activists have described the terms “ballot harvesting” or “voter harvesting” as essentially pejoratives for “voting.”
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA), which has been trying to thwart Reeves from being reelected, has also voiced concern over the new law, using it as political ammunition in the group’s attempt to turn Mississippi blue by electing Democrat Brandon Presley to the governor’s mansion.
“Tate Reeves is trying to rip power away from everyday Mississippi voters because he’s scared of being held accountable for his failures and corruption,” DGA communications director Sam Newton told The Epoch Times. “In fact, a new poll this week showed that over 20 percent of Mississippi GOP voters are crossing party lines to support Brandon Presley, who is launching a ‘war on corruption’ and putting working people first with plans to axe the food tax, slash car tag fees in half and expand Medicaid to save rural hospitals.”
Reeves has denied any allegations of corruption or misconduct.
Ballot Harvesting Bans in Other States
Mississippi isn’t the only state to enact a law banning ballot harvesting.
Over 30 other states have placed restrictions or bans on the practice of third-party ballot collections and some have even made it a jailable offense.
In Arizona, a law passed in 2016 (pdf) made it a felony that could be punished with prison time if a third-party collected another voter’s ballot unless that person was a relative, caregiver, or household member.
After the law was passed, at least four people in the state were prosecuted for allegedly collecting ballots unlawfully, including a former mayor. A 66-year-old grandmother, Guillermina Fuentes, was sentenced to a month in jail and two years of probation for collecting several completed mail ballots and depositing them at a polling place during the August 2020 primary. Prosecutors initially wanted her sentenced to a year in prison.
Texas also has a ban on ballot harvesting, which is punishable by a felony and prison time. At least two people have been arrested for collecting absentee ballots from individuals and depositing them at polling places.
In 2021, 55-year-old Rachel Rodriguez, a campaign worker in San Antonio was charged with several counts of election fraud, including unlawfully assisting people voting by mail after she was caught on video by Project Veritas.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office filed charges after they said Rodriguez was seen on video describing how she convinces voters to change their ballots in return for gift bags.
Republican Party Leaders Shift
After years of criticizing mail voting and ballot harvesting, Republicans at the top of the party want to change course.
Since 2020, then-President Donald Trump would routinely sow doubt about mail voting and encourage voters to wait to vote in person on Election Day, but now he is asking donors to chip in for his “ballot harvesting fund”—saying in a fundraising email, “Either we ballot harvest where we can, or you can say goodbye to America!”
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has announced a “Bank Your Vote” initiative for 2024, saying the party “has never said don’t vote early,” while also acknowledging the GOP will have to work to change voters’ thinking on early voting.
“That certainly is a challenge if you have people in your ecosystem saying, ‘Don’t vote early or don’t vote by mail,’ and those cross messages do have an impact,” McDaniel said. “I don’t think you’re seeing that heading into 2024. I think you’re seeing all of us singing from the same songbook.”
The nationwide GOP plan emphasizes “in-person early voting, absentee voting, and ballot harvesting where legal,” while also pledging “to fight against bad ballot harvesting laws.”
Democrats have been critical of the new GOP effort after years of messaging by Republicans against mail-in voting.
“Donald Trump and extremist Republicans have spent years telling lies about elections to justify their losses. That includes demonizing mail ballots and ballot collection,” said Jena Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state and head of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State. “These hypocritical extremists are only interested in spreading chaos and trying to gain power at any cost.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
