Democratic State Representative Stahl Hamilton introduced SB 2336 last week, which would allow mail-in ballots to be handled and delivered by individuals who are not related to the voter who cast the ballot.
Hamilton’s bill specifically strikes language that mandates, “A person may only handle or return their own ballot or the ballot of family members, household members or persons for whom they are a caregiver” and declares it “unlawful” to “handle or return the ballot of any other person.”
The lawmaker acknowledged in remarks to Arizona Mirror that her legislation is unlikely to become law, but insisted it would be “one step in pushing for a strengthened democracy.”
Hamilton also insisted to the outlet the bill “would benefit a lot of people,” especially “those who have a hard time driving or don’t have access to transportation.”
Ballot harvesting was formally banned in Arizona with the passage of a 2016 law, which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 2021,
The “2000 Mules” documentary released by conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza claimed to have identified hundreds of ballot harvesters who completed more than 4,000 trips during the 2020 election.
At an Arizona legislative hearing in 2022, the researchers behind the documentary alleged to lawmakers that they identified, using cell phone data, several hundred ballot harvesters in Maricopa and Yuma Counties who completed 4,242 illegal trips to deliver packages of mail-in ballots to drop boxes during the 2020 election.
The average ballot harvester allegedly made 21 trips to the ballot box, potentially casting doubt on the likelihood they were related to or shared a household with the individuals whose ballots they purportedly delivered.
Last year, Hamilton was the subject of an ethics complaint after she was caught removing Bibles kept in the members-only lounge of the Arizona House over a period of time that spanned from March 2023 and eventually required the installation of a hidden security camera, which ultimately caught Hamilton removing the Bibles and hiding them under couch cushions and inside a refrigerator.
Hamilton publicly apologized and characterized her behavior as colorful commentary about the separation between church and state, while Representative Justin Heap (R-Mesa) insisted “her behavior was disorderly” and “inappropriate” and urged the Arizona House to launch a complete investigation.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
