[NFB-Idaho] legislation that might be of interestFW: Please share widely IMPORTANT H223 (was H 88) Ballot Collection

[President NFBIDAHO]

I thought members might be interested in this proposed legislation. Please read if interested and respond accordingly. I am not suggesting that the NFB of Idaho is taking a stand,but we can act as individual citizens.  

 

From: Dana Gover [mailto:dananwadacenteridaho at gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2021 8:52 AM
To: Idaho CID; Vicki Leeper; Dianna Willis; Courtney Holthus; janicec at uidaho.edu; jmaxand at lincidaho.org; dmyler5 at gmail.com; President NFBIDAHO; LeAnn Naillon; mheinrich at lincidaho.org; Mark Leeper; Chelsie Henderson; Heather Clarke; Lana Gonzales; danalynard at q.com; Laine Amoureux; Beth Cunningham; Jane Donnellan; Janice Carson; Mel Leviton; Jami Davis
Subject: Please share widely IMPORTANT H223 (was H 88) Ballot Collection

 

Bill: H 223 <https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2021/legislation/H0223.pdf>  Ballot Collection 

Last week, we listed this bill as H 88 that made it a felony to collect and deliver more than two (2) absentee ballots. The League gave testimony opposing it. The bill was then changed to allow six (6) ballots, but now requires that ballots can only be collected from close family members. It has a new bill number, H 223. It will be receiving a hearing soon and you may provide written or remote testimony by contacting the Senate State Affairs Secretary Twyla Melton at sstaf at senate.idaho.gov .

 

Description: Makes it a felony to collect more than six (6) ballots, and only from family defined within “2nd degree of consanguinity”. This means that anyone who collects an absentee ballot from a non-family member, such as an elderly neighbor or nursing home residents, etc. will be charged with a felony.

 

Bill Status: Passed by the House, on its way to Senate State Affairs Committee

 

Women’s League Position: Oppose - League supports “a vote by mail election system in Idaho that is secure, accurate, recountable, and accessible with particular focus on measures that address concerns about accessibility and security of voting by mail.” (adopted in May of 2009) The League is certainly against ballot collecting for fraudulent purposes. What the League does not like about the bill is the possibility of inhibiting legal and legitimate assistance to voters casting their absentee ballots. Voter assistance is allowed and is not evidence of fraud. Ballot tampering is illegal and rightly so. 

Call to Action – Email, write to or phone your state senator. Find their contact information here: https://legislature.idaho.gov/legislators/whosmylegislator/?address=

 

Suggested Script: "I am writing to oppose bill H 223. . ." or "As your constituent I urge you to oppose H 223…." Select a few talking points or write your own and include your address and phone number after your signature. If you have a personal story of how this would affect you, include it. Personal stories are effective.

*	Every eligible voter’s vote should count, no matter how the vote is delivered. 
*	This bill inhibits legal and legitimate assistance to voters casting their absentee ballots.
*	This bill prevents anyone from providing assistance to an elderly or disabled neighbor by delivering their ballot in case it will not arrive on time by mail.
*	Idaho does not allow voters who make mistakes on their ballots to “cure” their ballots, so many ballots are already not being counted. Any additional requirements or restrictions on absentee ballots, such as what this bill proposes, can be considered a form of voter suppression.
*	How will this be enforced?

 

Dana Gover, MPA, ADAC, 

She|Her|Hers (what's this <https://www.mypronouns.org/she-her> ?) ADA Specialist in Training & Technical Assistance Consultation

Northwest ADA Center-Idaho

Email: dananwadacenteridaho at gmail.com

ADA TA Hotline: voice and text 208-841-9422

Cell phone : voice and text: 208-761-3073

Website: http://www.nwadacenter.org/idaho

https://idahoaccessproject.org/

 

 

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The information, materials, and/or technical assistance that are provided by the Northwest ADA Center-Idaho is intended as general, and are neither a determination or your legal rights or responsibilities under the ADA or any other law nor binding on any agency with enforcement responsibilities under the ADA. We are not an enforcement entity. 

  

               

 

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