Absentee vote changes may have invited ‘ballot harvesting’

By GARY D. ROBERTSON
December 8, 2018

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Changes made to absentee voting procedures five years ago in North Carolina may have emboldened workers to run the type of illegal “ballot-harvesting” operation alleged to have been used in a disputed congressional race, election experts and lawmakers said.

Some observers are concerned that the changes made it possible for more people to apply for absentee ballots. Then so-called harvesters could collect unsealed ballots and manipulate them or throw out ones from minority voters who might have otherwise gone to the polls.

The heavily Republican Legislature crafted the 2013 law that scaled back some voting options amid a national GOP push for voter ID laws and other restrictions they said were aimed at preventing in-person voting fraud, which experts say is rare. Many provisions were struck down in court, but unchallenged absentee changes may have opened wider a door to possible widespread fraud.

“It could have exacerbated the problem,” Republican state Sen. Tommy Tucker said this week. He and other state legislators believe more absentee ballot restrictions may be necessary.

Investigators are scrutinizing mail-in ballot requests and ballot envelopes in the 9th Congressional District — a process that could lead to criminal charges or even a new election. Republican Mark Harris leads Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes out of nearly 283,000 cast. The focus appears to be on Bladen and Robeson counties.

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