Election scam sparks questions over law

The Maricopa County Elections Department has sent out over a million early ballots. From Phoenix, Jude Joffe-Block reports some questions are arising over how those ballots can be turned in.

JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK: This week County Recorder Helen Purcell announced people posing as county employees were knocking on doors asking to collect voters' early ballots. She warned such behavior was a felony. That sparked some confusion about the law. It turns out misrepresenting oneself as an elections employee is a crime, as is collecting ballots and never mailing them in. Simply collecting a ballot from someone else and immediately turning it in-- as many campaigns do--is not. Matt Roberts is a spokesman for the Secretary of State's office.

MATT ROBERTS: Parties have historically been a place where voters can drop off their early ballot or have their folks go and bring them in. That is not against the law.

JOFFE-BLOCK: But he says, these are live ballots, and the Secretary of State recommends using the mail.

MATT ROBERTS: We feel very strongly that in this day in age, where you can easily pop your ballot in the mailbox, they should be able to do so.

JOFFE-BLOCK: Early ballots must be received by the end of Election Day. The recorder's office recommends putting them in  the mail several days before Nov. 6 to ensure they arrive in time.

Listen:

Pledge Now
Give Monthly
Facebook logo
Twitter logo

Please read our Contributor Confidentiality Policy and the KJZZ Ethics and Practices guidelines. KJZZ supports Equal Employment Opportunities and works against discrimination in employment. For more information, please see KJZZ's Employment and EEO Information page.
For questions or comments about this website, please contact the KJZZ webmaster. For general comments or questions see the Contact KJZZ page for a listing of contacts by topic. Please note: Station policy mandates that listeners who win on-air giveaways on this station are not eligible to win again for 30 days.
Email regarding NPR's coverage, ethics, and funding can be sent to the NPR Ombudsman, who maintains an informative web page. For comments or concerns regarding NPR programs, listeners with a general inquiry may send an email to nprhelp@npr.org

KJZZ is a service of Rio Salado College, and Maricopa Community Colleges.
Copyright© 2013 KJZZ/Rio Salado College/MCCCD