Can I still drop off my mail-in ballot at a drop box? 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. Return of ballot by 3rd person. Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Alaska law allows a representative to return an absentee ballot for a voter who qualifies for a special needs ballot and specifies who may not act as a representative. [3], Utah law does not specify whether someone may return mail ballots on behalf of voters. (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. (b)a United States postal service worker or other individual specifically authorized by law to transmit United States mail; (3)An individual authorized to collect a voter's ballot pursuant to subsections (2)(c) through (2)(f) may not collect and convey more than six ballots.[3]. As stated on Pennsylvanias official voting website, The only exceptions are if you are a voter with a disability and have designated someone, in writing, to deliver your ballot, or if you need an emergency absentee ballot., Those with mail-in ballots are asked to return your own ballot as soon as you receive it. The law says, "[A]t the request of a voter whose mail ballot has been prepared by or on behalf of the voter, a person authorized by the voter may return the mail ballot on behalf of the voter by mail or personal delivery to the county clerk, or any ballot drop box established in the county[.]"[9]. West Virginia law does not specify who may return absentee ballots, but it says a person may not return more than two ballots and must certify that they haven't examined or altered the ballot. Approximately 22,000 Lehigh County voters used mail . Since the vote was tied, the motion failed. (c) The voter is serving on a sequestered jury on Election Day. district, as the case may be, shall send to the absent voter by mail, at the expense of Many of these laws specify that household members, caregivers, and/or family members may return ballots. Most states do allow residents to return a ballot for someone else but with various levels of restriction. Step 6. 2. To any 3rd person who is a candidate or a member of a candidate's immediate family; [2011, c. 399, 23 (NEW).] The . In most states, you can drop off a ballot for someone else but there might be restrictions. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. (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]. A few states require designated agents to sign a document confirming they have the authority to deliver someones ballot. As used in this section, "immediate family" means the spouse, children, parents or siblings of a voter. Michigan law permits a household member or a family member (defined by law), or an election official if those options are not available, to return a voter's absentee ballot. (d) If assistance is provided by a person of the voter's choice, an election officer shall enter the person's name and address on the poll list beside the voter's name. 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. (a) The voter's spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepparent, stepchild; or Pennsylvania law does allow voters with disabilities who aren't able to return their own ballot to designate someone else to do it for them. The following map provides a summary of who was permitted to collect and return mail ballots by state as of August 2020. (e) Carrier envelopes may not be collected and stored at another location for subsequent delivery to the early voting clerk. But the Wisconsin Elections Commission should make clear that it is the responsibility and right of voters, not third parties, to request and submit ballots. After depositing the ballot in the return envelope and securely sealing the envelope, such voter shall give the envelope to the precinct voter or the relative who shall deliver it to the election authority in sufficient time for the ballot to be delivered by the election authority to the election authority's central ballot counting location before 7 p.m. on election day.". ", State law further says, "If a person is an authorized messenger for more than one voter, he must notify the person in charge of the election of all voters for whom he is a messenger. The law states the following: (a)A qualified applicant may designate a duly authorized agent to pick up and deliver an absentee ballot under this subtitle. 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. In Nevada, a person authorized by the voter may return a mail ballot at the request of a voter. Submit them at: FactCheck@AP.org. The law says that absentee ballots "shall be transmitted by mail or by commercial courier service, at the voter's expense, or delivered in person, or by the voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian and received by the county board not later than 5:00 p.m. on the day of the statewide primary or general election or county bond election. As used in this section, immediate family means a dependent relative who resides in the individual's household or any spouse, child or parent of the individual. 20130. 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. At the time, Dean Heller - Republican and former U.S. senator - said that allowing voters to request someone else to hand in their ballot made the state susceptible to election fraud. It falls under a state law that prohibits "ballot harvesting." On Wednesday, an appeals court upheld a 2016 Arizona law banning people from picking up and dropping off other voters' ballots. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r