Ballot harvesting” becomes illegal on July 1 in Mississippi. Ironically, this comes as former President Donald Trump and several likely GOP presidential candidates support such activities.
Senate Bill 2358 introduced by Rep. Jeff Tate of Meridian and signed by Gov. Tate Reeves will prohibit individuals from knowingly collecting and transmitting ballots that were mailed to another person. Exceptions include officials authorized by state or federal law, U.S. Postal Service employees, and family and household members and caregivers. Voters may no longer designate anyone else to deliver their ballots.
“Today, Mississippi is taking another step toward upholding the absolute integrity of our election process by banning ballot harvesting across the state,” Reeves said when he signed the bill. He characterized “ballot harvesting” as “an open invitation to fraud.”
“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,” Reeves continued. “But here in Mississippi we’re not just going to let that happen. Here we will make it easy to vote but hard to cheat.”
Both current Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson and his predecessor Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann praised Tate for getting his bill enacted.
Hmmm.
After years of labeling ballot harvesting and early voting as “corrupt” and “cheating,” former President Trump has changed his tune (as he often does).
In a February fundraising email, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, Trump wrote: “The radical Democrats have used ballot harvesting to cancel out YOUR vote and walk away with elections that they NEVER should have won. But I’m doing something HUGE to fight back.”
“Our path forward is to MASTER the Democrats’ own game of harvesting ballots in every state we can.”
“We have no choice,” he said at the ultra-conservative Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in early March as reported in the Dallas Morning News. “We will become masters of ballot harvesting….And we will do it legally.”
Last November CNN reported that expected GOP presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also urged the GOP to pursue ballot harvesting where it is legal.
In December NBC News reported that Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel said the GOP had worked to “perfect” ballot harvesting in states where it remained legal.
A 2022 study by Ballotpedia showed 25 states allowed voters to choose whomever they wanted to deliver their ballots. Another 13 states did not specify who could; Mississippi was one of those 13. While other conservative states have moved to outlaw or tighten the practice, many have not and will not.
Darn, Republicans won’t get to MASTER ballot harvesting in Mississippi.
“See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception” – Colossians 2:8.
14 comments:
“Ballot harvesting” becomes illegal on July 1 in Mississippi. Ironically, this comes as former President Donald Trump and several likely GOP presidential candidates support such activities”
Bill is either a liar or just an ignorant SOB.
I love how he turns this into an argument against Trump, instead of a win for a step in the right direction for secure elections.
Not sure why his columns that are constantly full of propaganda and half-truths are re-posted on this site, but please, keep them coming. Every column is just another confirmation of how pathetic the liberals truly are.
if you can't be bothered to show up in person, produce an acceptable form of voter id, and vote, on just one day, then maybe you shouldn't be able to vote.
there are exceptions to this; those that physically can't travel, out of town/country, or military, and that can all be handle with absentee voting.
no ballot harvesting by anyone.
no mail-in voting by anyone.
signature on absentee ballots must match the signature of who requested it.
voter rolls must be purged every year of any ineligible voters, such as dead people , duplicate entries, and certain felons.
no foreign national/illegal alien should be allowed to vote in any election; local, state, or federal.
paper ballots only.
at the time of polls closing, the line is cut off.
after the last person votes, all votes are to be counted until they are all counted. no stopping in the middle of the night for any reason.
count all close votes 3 times.
equal number of democrat and republican observers and access for each at polling stations and vote counting areas.
i'm sure there are other ideas i'm missing that would improve the process and help restore faith in the voting process. however, i'm pretty sure i know which party would be the one to suggest these, and the party that would fight tooth and nail to prevent them.
“Whoever shall procure, or endeavor to procure, the vote of any elector, or the influence of any person over other electors, at any election, for himself or any candidate, by means of violence, threats of violence, or threats of withdrawing custom, or dealing in business or trade, or of enforcing the payment of a debt, or of bringing a suit or criminal prosecution, or by any other threat or injury to be inflicted by him, or by his means, or shall violate any provision of Section 23-15-871 or 23-15-874, shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned in the county jail not more than one (1) year, or be fined not more than Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00), or both.”
Ah, another election law with no teeth to truly punish the offender which is exactly why we saw all the shenanigans in 2020 and will continue to see them going forward.
The saying “Stupid is as stupid does” comes to mind when reading this trash by Bill Crawford. I’m afraid he has it twisted because there is evidence that the democrat party stuffed ballots at night. I’m sorry but I refused to believe that 81 million people voted for that idiot we have for president in the White House. He couldn’t get his party nomination back in the 80s because of plagiarism.
This is a solution looking for a problem. This is stupid and a result of the orange man being a sore loser. There were no shenanigans in 2020. The dominion lawsuit has proven this and amazingly Fox News folks agree. No one stole any election. Secretaries of State all over our nation say it was h tho e safest and most secure ever. He lost. Stop being sore losing snowflakes and run better candidates. Run on things that appeal to everyone. No one, except old white people, gives a shit about wokeness, abortion, and CRT. People care about automation, wages v. Cost of living, healthcare. The way the right while holding more political seats/offices has tricked their voters into believing the Dems are the problem and the cause of their suffering, is amazing.
This Bill Crawford guy sounds like a liberal socialist. Talk about biased propaganda, this is it.
A bunch of suckers fell for the line that this is a big issue. Leaders want you to think it’s a big issue because they can’t fix the big issues.
Hey Bill you pegged it, yet they continue to say this is needed in Mississippi. Tater is lining himself up for the National stage, why bother with being the junior senator from Mississippi when you can be VP
Apparently, Mr. Crawford does not listen to the news and statements by conservative people. Conservatives/Republicans are saying that in states where ballot harvesting is legal, we should learn from the Dems how to gather ballots to fight and defeat the socialist Dems. Also, we have to be sure that all votes harvested by the Dems are legal and meet all the requirements.
Also, Mr. Crawford has never had to contend with the dirty tricks of the Dems here in Mississippi. I don't know the age of Mr. Crawford, but I know that from the late 60s through the 80s conservatives had to keep a close eye on the Dems and how they were getting people to the polls and voting for them.
I am a lifelong conservative and have never voted Democrat since I became old enough to vote in 1962.
Crawford, for someone who has claimed to be a political strategist, clearly you let your efforts to trash the Republicans (you know, that party you left in 1987, and claimed to reunite with in 1996) every chance you get.
I agree with Senator Tate - along with Hosemann and Watson with their statement of support, and Reeves for his comments - that this bill is good. Just like I believe that our Voter ID requirements that were obtained over the legislature's annual blockage a little over a decade ago.
Other states don't like out Voter ID; we don't like their ballot harvesting. Or their mail-out balloting. Or their same day registration. Could go on and on. But in our federation, each state gets to establish their own laws regarding the conduct of an election. And as long as some states "allow" ballot harvesting, it would be smart political strategy to try to figure out how to compete with the Democrats in those states that use the method to increase their votes.
Doesn't mean that I/we suppot the concept, but if its the law that all sides can legally do in those states, it should be included in the campaign tool-box; until changes can be made in those states (probably never) that would eliminate the process.
Simple question with a yes or no answer:
Should a person(s) aligned with a party (or not) be allowed to appear before an audience in a nursing home to discuss voting on Monday and on Thursday show up to take possession of ballots supposedly cast by residents of that nursing home?
And carry those ballots in a paper sack to a location where they are tabulated?
Remember, I said aligned with a party or not.
Should a person in a Nursing Home be allowed to vote?
Nursing home residents can vote if they can drive to the voting area. A poll worker will take the ballot out to the car.
“there are exceptions to this; those that physically can't travel, out of town/country, or military, and that can all be handle with absentee voting.”
Hey, dumdum… that’s already the law in Mississippi. We don’t have mail in voting, we have absentee ballots. The signatures are matched.
Post a Comment