Republicans have long shunned the practice of “ballot harvesting” — and with good reason. Trafficking voters’ ballots by the batch is a core Democrat strategy, and even when done legally, the practice makes it harder to detect potential ballot fraud and undermines voter confidence. But with dozens of states permitting legal ballot collection, Republicans can no longer sit back and hope Election Day turnout will be enough to combat Democrats’ tactics.
“Ballot harvesting” refers to when a third party, such as volunteers or paid workers, go to residences, nursing homes, and other locations to pick up completed ballots and drop them off at election offices or another designated drop-off location.
At least 24 states permit a voter to designate an individual who can return his ballot for him, though some states include other stipulations such as how many ballots an individual can return. Democrat operatives have long used the procedure to help their candidates win.
Just months before the presidential election, Democrats in Nevada pushed through legislation that legalized ballot collection by third parties. California got a head start — the state quietly passed legislation in 2016 legalizing the practice, which was then credited with helping Democrats take back the House in 2018. An estimated 250,000 ballots were collected and dropped off in California’s Orange County during the 2018 midterms.
Democrat operatives have also been caught trafficking ballots in states that prohibit the practice. Guillermina Fuentes of Arizona was indicted in 2020 and later sentenced to probation after
