Mary Jo Pitzl

The Republic | azcentral.com

The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated a new Arizona law that makes it a felony to collect early ballots.

Saturday's order from the nation's highest court overturns an appeals court decision a day earlier that blocked the law from being enforced. The decision is a blow to Democratic get-out-the-vote efforts and groups that in the wake of the lower-court decision had geared up to help voters deliver their ballots to the polls.

Appeals court upholds Arizona 'ballot harvesting' ban

Democrats allege the law hurts minorities' ability to vote.

The high court's order adds to a flurry of legal decisions affecting Tuesday's election, and ended an 18-hour period during which ballot collection was once again legal in Arizona.

"What a whirlwind!" said Tim LaSota, attorney for the state Republican Party. The state GOP has been a strong proponent of the law and, through the Republican Lawyers Association, has trained watchers to look out for people returning multiple ballots to the polls Tuesday.

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State GOP Chairman Robert Graham called the court's order "a victory for the voters of Arizona." The Arizona Democratic Party disagreed.

"Although we are disappointed by the Supreme Court's decision, we will respect their decision," Arizona Democratic Party Chair Alexis Tameron said in a statement. "In the final three days of this election the Arizona Democratic Party will continue to follow state law in our voter outreach practices. Our fight has always been about having more people participate and making the voting process easier for Arizonans, and we will continue this fight not only this election but always."

What to do with collected ballots?

So what happens with ballots that were collected Friday while the law was on hold?

Matt Roberts, a spokesman for Secretary of State Michele Reagan's office, said anyone who gathered ballots Friday should take them to local county elections offices.

"I'm sure if anyone dropped them off Monday, there'd be no problem," Roberts said. Elections officials want those votes counted, he said.

Attorney General Mark Brnovich's office deferred to Reagan's direction.

ONE Arizona, which is working with minority and other communities to get out the vote, directed its canvassers Saturday morning to immediately stop offering to turn in ballots for people.

For ballots collected Friday, executive director Ian Danley said canvassers should turn them into the Maricopa County Recorder's Office Monday morning, "and should be prepared to provide a sworn statement showing they were collected during the time period it was legal."

Likewise, state Democratic Party political director Barb Lubin said party workers collected a "handful" of ballots Friday and delivered them to the recorder's office. A few that came in after the county's close of business will be delivered Monday.

Republicans took a different tack.

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"The ethical thing would be to return them to the voter," Graham said. It's too late to drop ballots in the mail, since it's highly unlikely they would get to county elections offices in time.

Bazta Arpaio quickly jumped into action after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction Friday, blocking the law. It urged voters to text them so someone could collect their ballot and turn it in.

B. Loewe of the Bazta Arpaio campaign said his group has ceased ballot collection and are turning their attention to getting voters to the polls. The group is opposing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's bid for another term.

A winding path

It took Republicans three years to get the ballot-collection bill through the Legislature.

The law makes it a felony for anyone to return another voter's ballot to the polls. There are exceptions for members of the same household, caregivers, the postal worker and family members.

Supporters argued the law was needed to protect against fraud, claiming collectors were "harvesting" the ballots by opening them or otherwise divining how they were marked, and tossing the ones that did not align with the collector's political views. There were anecdotal accounts, but no proof this had occurred.

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Opponents argued the practice was helpful, especially for new voters or those who waited too long to get their early ballot in the mail. Community groups, especially those working with Latinos, used ballot collection in past elections.

Unanimous order

The court's order apparently was a unanimous decision. There were no dissents filed from the eight-member court.

Although the court did not offer any reasoning for its decision, LaSota said he suspects it was because of the decision in another case involving Arizona, Purcell v. Gonzales. That case determined courts should not inject themselves into elections when Election Day is imminent.

"It is very likely that the Supreme Court issued a stay in such short order, reversing the 9th Circuit, to preserve this principle," he said.

The battle over the bill is not over. The order, from Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, states the stay is in place until the full appeals court can consider the case, which was filed by state and national Democrats in April.

Although the 9th Circuit initially upheld the ballot-collection law, a wider panel of that same court blocked it Friday. It will schedule a hearing on the issue later.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.