What is the rule with absentee ballot collection?

[Baitball Blogger]

This year there was a box set up outside of the election area to collect absentee ballots. I assumed it was all legal because it was right in front of the library doors.

[jberryhill]

1. In what state?

There is no "the rule" on a subject which is independently governed by the laws of 50 states.

In Delaware, it must be mailed back in the envelope provided. A "box at the library" will not work.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Florida.

Same county that allowed a Republican representative in 2000 to go into the supervisor of elections office to fix/cure absentee ballots, but did not extend the same courtesy to Democrats.

[jberryhill]

6. well....

Whether the rules this year are the same as they were in 2000 is a 'research project'. Rules change.

https://dos.myflorida.com/elections/for-voters/voting/vote-by-mail/

Instructions for completing the vote-by-mail ballot are included with the ballot. The voted ballot must be returned and received by the Supervisor of Elections no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day. Other return options are available for Military and Overseas Voters.

If the voter decides to go to the polls to vote instead, the voter should bring the vote-by-mail ballot (whether it has been marked or not). Even if the voter comes to the polls without the vote-by-mail ballot, the voter will still be able to vote a regular ballot if the supervisor of elections' office is able to confirm that it has not received the voter's vote-by-mail ballot. However, if it is confirmed that the voter have already voted a vote-by-mail ballot, the voter cannot vote again at the polls. If the voter believes or insists that the supervisor of elections' office is wrong about receiving the vote-by-mail ballot or if the supervisor of elections' office cannot confirm that the voter has already voted an vote-by-mail ballot, the voter is allowed to vote a provisional ballot.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. This is strange since I see a huge loophole.

Someone could drop his mail-in ballot into the box, and go in and vote in the election room.

Not sure that would have worked in my county, however, because they were adamant about taking my mail-in ballot before they allowed me to vote.

[Retrograde]

10. Not in CA

In California, poll workers have a list of voters in their precinct with those who requested mail-in ballots marked with "A" (at least in my county). If someone comes in to a polling place who had requested a mail or absentee ballot this shows on the official list of voters. The best they can do is claim that they never received their mail-in ballot and get a provisional ballot at the polls, after signing an affidavit that they never got the first ballot and are only voting once. After election day, the county processes all the provisional votes and does check for duplicate voters.

[octoberlib]

2. It varies by state. In NC , it has to be sent in by the person who filled out the ballot or

closest relative.

[cyclonefence]

3. In PA it has to be mailed back in the envelope provided,

although I suspect you could also deliver it in person to the elections board at the courthouse. "A box outside the library" sounds like voter suppression to me, but what do I know?

[MineralMan]

4. That varies from state to state.

[onenote]

7. As others have noted, it varies by state. For example, in California

the law expressly allows voters to authorize someone to return the ballot on their behalf. Specifically, anyone may return a voter's ballot for them, as long as the "collector" does not get paid on a per ballot basis. In order for the voter's ballot to be counted, the voter must fill out the authorization section found on the outside of the ballot envelope.

See https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/vote-mail/#vote-by-mail


You can expect to hear more about the California rule from the repubs as the investigation of what took place in NC moves forward. They will claim that what took place in NC is no different from what takes place in California. Of course, that's not true, but it won't stop them from making the claim.

[central scrutinizer]

9. Oregon

We collected ballots at Democratic headquarters but made sure to tell everyone that these were not official drop boxes (which are scattered around town) and offered to pick up ballots at people’s homes if they wanted. Vote by mail is a de facto poll tax, albeit small (2 stamps). People trusted us to handle and deliver them properly.