Newsom Recall Election: Controversial ‘ballot harvesting’ at play in the valley
Votes are being cast in the effort to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom as local political parties are ramping up efforts to get those mail-in ballots returned and counted.
Valley Republicans are offering ballot harvesting as an option to get your ballot returned by Sept. 14 – but valley Democrats say it's not a method they recommend.
Ballot harvesting is the controversial strategy of having someone collect others' ballots and return them. It was recently made illegal in states like Arizona and Florida, but it's legal here in California as long as the ballot is signed by both parties.
"We're going to offer people to drop off their ballots with us or give them to one of us and we will drive them to the Registrar of Voters and we will demand a receipt in person," said Wendy Beyer, a volunteer with the Republican headquarters in La Quinta.
In this primarily vote-by-mail election, votes will be counted if voters drop off ballots at drop boxes at city halls or some city community centers. They can be mailed in via the postal service before Sept. 14 at 8 p.m., or voters can cast ballots in-person at their assigned polling place.
"We do not trust the post office; we do not trust contracted carriers," Beyer said. "We don't, so that's one thing that could go wrong."
Elle Kurpiewski with the Democratic Headquarters of the Desert said her political group is staying away from ballot harvesting right now, hoping to avoid controversy.
Last October, the California secretary of state and the Justice Department issued immediate cease and desist orders to the state GOP for ballot collection boxes they said were misleadingly marked as official.
"I'm uncomfortable based on the fact that it's the Republicans who, in the last election, were screaming foul," Kurpiewski said. "We don't want to take any chances."
Former California Gov. Jerry Brown signed changes in AB 1921 into law in 2016, authorizing the designation of any person to return a vote-by-mail ballot.
The state says your best bet is to find an official drop box, mail in your vote, or vote in-person.
