By Abigail Fackler
Idaho Public Radio
Members of the Idaho House State Affairs Committee met Monday, February 14, to address House Bill 547, which seeks to prohibit ballot harvesting by making it a crime for someone to mail in the ballot of a person outside of their immediate household.
House Majority Leader Mike Moyle introduced this bill in response to voter fraud rumors surrounding the 2020 presidential election. This bill is the amended version of House Bill 88 that Moyle proposed in 2021 regarding the same issue, and further defines conditions surrounding eligibility for those dropping off mail-in ballots.
This bill raised concerns for some Idahoans and Idaho-based organizations, some of whom testified at the committee meeting to share their concerns.
Kendal Shaber, who spoke on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Idaho said that the bill would make it difficult for certain groups of people to vote in the state of Idaho.
“What is the compelling reason for making it more difficult or impossible for the disabled, the elderly, reservation residents, those in care facilities, the sick and those lacking transportation to exercise their constitutional right to vote?” Shaber asked.
HB 547 doesn’t allow much room for anyone not in the voter’s household or related to the voter by blood, marriage or adoption to mail a ballot on their behalf without receiving a misdemeanor or felony charge. This could potentially hinder someone’s right to vote if they live in a non-traditional household or have any extenuating circumstances.
According to Shaber, it also takes away a voter’s right to determine for themselves who they trust to convey their ballot.
“Many of these Idaho citizens don’t have family in Idaho, or a living spouse or roommate,” Shaber said. “The person they trust could be their dearest friend, church member or neighbor. But with its possible misdemeanor or felony charges, this bill delivers a chilling effect on both those who need support to convey their absentee ballots and those friends and neighbors who would like to help.”
Shiva Rajbhandari, a 17-year-old student at Boise High representing Babe Vote, a local youth voting advocacy group, said that this bill is a solution in search of a problem.
“Even the Representative from Star who introduced this legislation will admit that Idaho doesn’t have a problem with ballot harvesting,” Rajbhandari said in reference to Representative Moyle. “The theory is that if we complicate the voting process enough, people won’t vote.”
Rajbhandari said that the bill is ambiguous in its language and could lead to people being wrongfully charged with a felony or misdemeanor if they conveyed to a neighbor who their friend voted for via absentee ballot, or if a social worker explained how to fill out an absentee ballot to a client. He also said that the bill doesn’t exclude nursing home staff or hospice care personnel, which could be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Despite the backlash the bill received, there are also those in support of it. Jason Hancock spoke on behalf of the Idaho Secretary of State’s office said they support the bill. According to Hancock, the Secretary of State’s office doesn’t believe that ballot harvesting is a good practice, and that since absentee voting is the least secure voting method it’s more subject to ballot harvesting.
While Hancock didn’t mention any example of ballot harvesting in Idaho, he did say that other states had issues with it.
“When ballot harvesting is allowed, it essentially encourages people, and we’ve seen this in other states, who are partisan actors who have the greatest interest in the outcome of elections to get involved in the collection and conveying of ballots.” Hancock said.
The bill was reported out of committee with a “do pass” recommendation and is before the full House.
Abigail Fackler is a Moscow-based reporter for Idaho Public Radio and covered this hearing remotely.
Posted February 20, 2022
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