Politics

Tulsi Gabbard Says Bipartisan Bill Banning Ballot Harvesting Will Protect ‘Sacred Right To Vote’

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
Font Size:

Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard tweeted Monday that her bipartisan bill to ban ballot harvesting is required to safeguard Americans’ “sacred right to vote.”

The former Democratic presidential candidate tweeted, “Congress needs to pass our bipartisan bill to ban ballot harvesting so no one can exploit our sacred right to vote.”

She recently introduced the Election Fraud Prevention Act with Republican Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis.

Gabbard also cited a Project Veritas report that claims the practise was rife during Minneapolis’s Ward 6 city council special election race. Minneapolis police announced that they are investigating the allegations. (RELATED: ‘Child Porn’: Tulsi Gabbard Says She Cancelled Her Netflix Subscription Over ‘Cuties’)

The congresswoman argued that the report “offers further evidence of the need to ban ballot harvesting. It’s not a partisan issue. It’s been abused to help both R & D candidates, including in North Carolina & California. Please help by telling your congressional rep to pass our bipartisan bill HR8285.”

Ballot harvesting involves any third party collecting and processing somebody else’s completed ballot. It is the law in California, where former Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown codified the practice under legislation. (RELATED: ‘I Was Not Invited’: Tulsi Gabbard Says DNC Did Not Ask Her To Participate ‘In Any Way’)

Fox News host Tucker Carlson warned in a May 26 broadcast of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that ballot harvesting, combined with mail-in voting, was a formula that would “massively expand the potential for voter fraud.”

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 23: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the briefing room of the White House on September 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump fielded questions about a coronavirus vaccine and the latest developments in the Breonna Taylor case among other topics. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the briefing room of the White House on Sept. 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

During the recent Republican National Convention, President Donald Trump accused Democrats of using the procedure as a means of “stealing” the 2020 presidential election.

“Here is a ballot. What the hell am I going to do with this thing?” he told the convention. “And then they have somebody knocking on your door, and they’re harvesting. ‘Have you gotten your ballot?’ Ya, I have my ballot. Are you going to sign it? If you want. Here it is, get out of here.”