Who Can Collect and Return an Absentee Ballot Other than the Voter

With the pandemic, some individuals want to remain cautious and avoid voting in public this election year. Governor Stitt of Oklahoma passed a law that enables voters to have a no-excuse absentee ballot this fall. See the earlier post Making Sure You Can Vote for How to Apply for your Ballot and How to Fill Out the Absentee Application.

Some states allow individuals to entrust someone to return their ballots for them; this process is known as ballot collection or ballot harvesting. However, there are some laws put into place about who can deliver a voter's absentee ballot to ensure that voting is not biased. Limitations on who can return a ballot were made to prevent the ballot collector from encouraging the voter to vote a certain way. Each state has different laws determining who can return the ballot of a voter. 

Who can return an absentee ballot in Oklahoma?

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) provides information regarding the limitations put into practice for ballot harvesting. The NCSL "represents the legislatures in the states, territories and commonwealths of the U.S. It's mission is to advance the effectiveness, independence and integrity of legislatures and to foster interstate cooperation and facilitate the exchange of information among legislatures." 

The NCSL lists who can return an absentee ballot and the restrictions put into place:

"The voter shall be required to mark the ballot in ink or other manner as prescribed by the Secretary of the State Election Board; seal the ballots in the plain opaque envelope; fill out completely and sign the affidavit, such signature to be notarized at no charge by a notary public; seal the plain opaque envelope inside the envelope bearing the affidavit and return both envelopes, sealed inside the return envelope, by hand delivery, United States mail or by a private mail service, provided such service has delivery documentation, to the county election board. No person who is a candidate for an office on the ballot or who is the chair or treasurer of the campaign of a candidate for office or who is related within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity to a candidate on the ballot may witness any absentee ballot affidavit. A voter's spouse is excepted from ballot harvesting laws and is permitted to return an absentee ballot on behalf of a voter."

Restrictions provided by the NCSL are the following:

"Any voter who hand delivers his or her ballot as provided in subsection A of this section shall provide proof of identity to the county election board. A notary public must witness the absentee voter signing the absentee ballot return envelope. Notaries may not notarize more than 20 absentee ballot affidavits without the written approval of the election board."

Oklahoma also prohibits "ballot harvesting," defined as:

1. Collecting or obtaining an absentee ballot from another person with the intent to submit, transmit or return the ballot to election officials on behalf of that person;
2.  Submitting, returning or transmitting an absentee ballot to election officials on behalf of another person;
3. Collecting or obtaining an absentee ballot from another person under a false pretense or promise of transmitting, returning or submitting it to election officials on behalf of that person;
4. Requesting or receiving an absentee ballot on behalf of another person;
5. Partially or fully completing an application for an absentee ballot on behalf of another person without that person's prior consent; or
6. Notarizing or witnessing more absentee ballots than allowed by law.

*This information is courtesy of the National Conference of State Legislatures

How to Request an Absentee Ballot?

To request an absentee ballot, Oklahoma residents should visit the Oklahoma State Election Board website. On the homepage, there is an option to request the absentee ballot. It should be noted that the deadline to request an absentee ballot is on October 27th at 5:00 PM. Voters just need their name and date of birth to request the absentee ballot through the OK Voter Portal. The information you submit through the OK Voter Portal must match the information you submitted when you registered to vote.

~Emily Hancz