US federal judge temporarily blocks Mississippi ‘ballot harvesting’ law News
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US federal judge temporarily blocks Mississippi ‘ballot harvesting’ law

District Judge Henry T. Wingate temporarily blocked a Mississippi law Tuesday that made it illegal to “knowingly collect and transmit a ballot that was mailed to another person,” with a few exceptions. The case is in the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi’s Northern Division.

The court took issue with the law’s “broad and vague nature.” Specifically, the court viewed with the law’s lack of a definition of “caregiver” unfavorably.  The law provides exceptions for:

(a) An election official while engaged in official duties as authorized by law;

(b) An employee of the United States Postal Service while engaged in official duties as authorized by law;

(c) Any other individual who is allowed by law to collect and transmit United States mail while engaged in official duties as authorized by law; and

(d) A family member, household member, or caregiver of the person to whom the ballot was mailed.

Additionally, the court noted that the plaintiffs provided the court with examples of how the law would deter absentee voters in upcoming elections. In contrast, the court stated that the defendants were unable to provide any data that Mississippi has a widespread ballot harvesting problem. In its conclusion, the court found that the plaintiffs demonstrated: “(1) a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; (2) a substantial threat of irreparable injury if the injunction is not issued; (3) the threatened injury outweighs any harm the injunction might cause defendants; and (4) the injunction will not disserve the public interest.”

The law attempted to limit ballot harvesting. This is the practice of collecting and turning in large numbers of mail-in votes, usually by voter organizations. In response to signing the bill into law earlier this year, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves referred to this practice as “an open invitation for fraud and abuse.” In response to the law, Disability Rights Mississippi, along with other voter organizations, sued to enjoin it.

The court temporarily enjoined the operation of the law in upcoming Mississippi elections and will issue a more detailed opinion and order concerning the ruling at a later date.

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