The Idaho state House on Monday passed a bill that bans ballot harvesting in a bid that proponents say is intended to shore up election integrity.
The bill, from Republican Rep. Mike Moyle, seeks to prevent ballot harvesting by making it a crime for someone to convey another individualโs mail-in ballot unless they are a member of the same household.
Delivering 10 or more ballots to a post office on behalf of others would be a felony under the measure. Delivering fewer than 10 would be a misdemeanor.
โMake it easy for people to vote, but make it hard for them to cheat,โ Moyle said. โWeโre trying to find that balance where we protect the integrity of the ballot, keep it secure, and keep it easy.โ
According to the billโs text, those who are allowed to collect othersโ ballots include elected officials, a roommate, postal workers, private mail service workers, or someone who is related to the voter by blood, marriage, or adoption.
Democrats in the state said they are opposed to the measure.
โI donโt think we should be making crimes out of things that arenโt bad. In fact, I donโt think we should be making good deeds into crimes,โ House Minority Leader Rep. Ilana Rubel, a Democrat, said, according to local media reports.
She added: โThe fact that it could be misused, thatโs not how we operate. We donโt ban all driving because itโs possible someone could drive drunk. We ban drunk driving. We ban the bad behavior. We donโt ban good behavior simply because itโs conceivable somebody somewhere could do it badly.โ
But Moyle indicated that Democrats like Rubel mischaracterized the nature of his legislation.
โTheyโre wrong,โ Moyle said. โThis bill opens up the opportunity for a lot of help from your roommate to your family to an elected official. All kinds of options to get help if you need help with your ballot. The question is who do you want helping you? Do you want a family member or someone partisan to show up to vote for you or help you vote? Thatโs the issue.โ
The bill will now be considered by the Idaho state Senate.
Byย Jack Phillips
