A. Only a postal or common carrier acting in his or her official capacity, a voter, a member of his or her immediate family, a designated caregiver, or a verifiable legal guardian shall be permitted to collect and deliver an absentee ballot.
B. For purposes of this bill, an immediate family member, designated caregiver, or verifiable legal guardian shall be limited to:
- An individual related by blood, marriage, adoption, or legal guardianship, whether or not said individual resides at the same residence as the voter.
- A person who provides medical or health care assistance to the voter in a residence, nursing care institution, hospice facility, assisted living center, assisted living facility, assisted living home, residential care institution, adult day health care facility, or adult foster care home for which no immediate family member is available and for whom self-collection and submission of the absentee ballot by the voter is impossible.
C. Each individual other than a postal or common carrier collecting such an absentee ballot shall submit the completed form that is sent to the voter with the voter’s absentee ballot.Thisform shall identify the name, address, telephone number, and relationship of the individual delivering the ballot. It must also be signed by both the voter and the deliverer of the ballot and then delivered to election officials along with the completed absentee ballot.
D. Any other individuals including, but not limited to, candidates, campaign staffers, party activists, and political consultants shall be prohibited from collecting and delivering absentee ballots.[1]
E. Elections officials shall provide a program for all individuals working in assisted living and long-term care centers, nursing homes, and similar facilities to train such staff in absentee ballot procedures and the applicable state and federal laws on providing assistance to voters. All such facilities receiving funding and other support from the state shall be required to have any of their staff that engage in voter assistance participate in such training.
[1] The state must decide whether, and to what degree, to punish such conduct as a felony or misdemeanor. The state must also be sure to provide for an adequate mens rea when criminalizing such conduct so that innocent or mistaken conduct will not be criminally prosecuted.
Learn More: Election Integrity Scorecard
