Absentee Ballots, Harvesting & Voter Rolls

Absentee Ballots, Harvesting & Voter Rolls

23 million inactive voter registrations. And mail ballots are where proven, outcome-changing fraud keeps turning up.

2018: a GOP operative's crew altered absentee ballots and North Carolina threw out the NC-09 result. 2020: a Paterson, NJ council race voided after 19% of ballots were disqualified. 2023: Bridgeport, CT reran a mayoral primary after cameras caught drop-box stuffing. Yet most viral 'vacant lot ballot' claims dissolve on follow-up.

PRO: Mail voting serves millions and is mostly honest.

CON / COST: Loose ballot-return rules have flipped local and congressional races.

SOCIETY: Tighten carriers, ID, signature cure, drop-box cameras, list upkeep.


Full analysis

Absentee Ballot Abuse, Ballot Harvesting and Unclean Voter Rolls

Local cases, court outcomes, audit data and voter-roll anomalies, each paired with what investigators actually concluded. As of Nov 4, 2026.

Content as of Nov 4, 2026, 8:33 PM ET. Source Page: PolicyBombs canvas

Long-form deep analysis. Companion to the 10-minute quick reference (22-absentee-harvesting-voter-rolls-summary.docx).

Contents

  • 10-Minute Voter Guide
  • 1. What is the policy
  • 2. Why it exists (incentives and corruption risk)
  • 3. Realized effects
  • 4. Good or bad for society
  • Anomaly and case table
  • Who supports / who opposes
  • References

10-Minute Voter Guide

Who’s for / against: For ballot collection and mail voting: California Democrats (AB 1921, 2016; SB 1174 banning local voter ID, 2024). For tighter rules: Republicans (Georgia SB 202, Texas SB 1, Trump’s 2025 EO). Surprise: the California GOP used ballot collection in 2020, and the worst proven harvesting fraud (NC-9, 2018) was by a Republican operative.

Mail ballots are the one part of American voting where proven, outcome-changing fraud keeps turning up. In 2018 a GOP operative’s crew in rural North Carolina collected and altered absentee ballots, and the state threw out a congressional result (NC-09). In 2020 a Paterson, NJ council race was voided after 19% of ballots were disqualified. In 2023 Bridgeport, CT had to rerun a mayoral primary after cameras caught people stuffing drop boxes. These cases are local, organized by insiders, and aimed at races won by a few hundred votes, where a single operative can swing the result. Messy voter rolls are a different problem. There are 23 million inactive registrations, plus dead and moved voters who linger on the lists. That clutter creates the opportunity, but when officials follow up, most viral claims of "ballots at vacant lots" turn out to be shelters, typos, or ballots that were already voided. Actual votes cast in dead people’s names number in the single or double digits per state. Prosecutions often collapse: the Paterson cases were dismissed in 2026, and Bridgeport and Frio County, TX are still pending.

Pros of easy mail voting / third-party return

Cons

+ Access for elderly, disabled, rural, military and shift-working voters (30% of 2024 voters used mail)

+ Paper trail: every mail ballot has an envelope, signature and audit trail

+ 98.8% of returned mail ballots were counted in 2024 (EAVS)

– Ballots are filled out away from poll workers, so coercion and harvesting can’t be seen

– Proven cases have overturned real elections (NC-09, Paterson, Bridgeport)

– Dirty rolls mean ballots get mailed to people who moved or died, creating opportunity

– Prosecutions are slow and often fail, so deterrence is weak

Bottom line: Mail-ballot fraud is rare statewide but real and decisive in small local races. The best-documented abuses come from paid or partisan ballot handlers, not from phantom voters at vacant lots. Back reforms that verify the voter and record who handled the ballot (ID number on the envelope, signature cure, chain-of-custody limits on who may return ballots, cameras on drop boxes, routine list maintenance with ERIC). Be skeptical of viral address claims until a county follows up.

1. What is the policy

Item

Detail

Absentee / mail voting

Every state allows some mail voting; 8 states (plus DC) mail every voter a ballot. 2024: 66.9M mail ballots sent, 48.0M returned, 47.6M counted (EAVS).

Ballot return by third parties ("harvesting")

Rules vary widely. California AB 1921 (2016, effective 2017) lets a voter designate anyone to return their ballot, and it can’t be a paid-per-ballot arrangement. Texas SB 1 (2021) makes paid vote harvesting a felony; the 5th Circuit upheld that ban in Feb 2026. NC, AL and others limit return to family or guardians.

Voter-roll maintenance (NVRA Sec. 8)

States must make a ‘reasonable effort’ to remove dead and moved voters. A voter who doesn’t answer a confirmation notice becomes inactive and is removed only after two federal general elections without contact. No systematic removals are allowed within 90 days of a federal election. Private groups (Judicial Watch, PILF) enforce this by lawsuit. For example, Judicial Watch’s 2019 settlement with LA County and California required notices to up to 1.5M inactive registrants.

Verification tools

Signature match (most states), ID number or copy on the envelope (TX, GA, MN, OH, AL, AR, etc.), witness or notary (a few), ballot tracking, ERIC interstate data-sharing (about 24 states plus DC as of 2026, after 9 GOP-led states left in 2023), and SSA death data.

2. Why it exists (incentives and corruption risk)

Case for broad mail voting and assisted return

Case for tight limits

+ Turnout and convenience, especially for the elderly and disabled

+ Lower cost per voter in all-mail states

+ Help for voters who can’t reach a mailbox (rural, tribal lands, homebound)

– The secret ballot is lost at the kitchen table: family, caregivers or operatives can pressure the voter

– Chain of custody breaks when one person carries dozens of ballots

– Bloated rolls send live ballots to wrong addresses

Incentives to cheat: the documented schemes cluster where (1) margins are tiny, (2) one party dominates, so the primary is the real election, (3) patronage jobs or contracts depend on the result (city councils, county judges, mayors), and (4) paid canvassers are paid per ballot. Dowless was paid by the Harris campaign’s consultant. Bridgeport’s defendant was a city employee and party vice-chair. The Frio County defendants include a county judge and city officials. This is retail corruption by local insiders, not national conspiracies, and that is why local court records find it while national studies miss it.

Incentives to exaggerate: activist groups raise money from viral "bogus ballot" counts, and national politicians cite inflated numbers (e.g. Trump’s 5,000 dead Georgia voters versus the 4 investigators found). Incentives to downplay: officials are graded on smooth elections, and both parties’ local machines benefit from mail-ballot operations.

3. Realized effects

A. Proven schemes that changed or voided results

Item

Detail

Assessment

NC-09, 2018 (Bladen/Robeson counties)

Republican Mark Harris led by 905 votes. Operative McCrae Dowless’s paid workers collected, filled in and discarded absentee ballots, and Harris won 61% of Bladen mail ballots. The state board refused to certify and ordered a new election (2019). Dowless was indicted but died in April 2022 before trial. Co-defendants (Lisa Britt and others) pleaded guilty and got probation or community service.

Substantiated; result voided

Paterson NJ, May 2020 council (all-mail)

About 19% of ballots (roughly 3,190 of 16,747) were disqualified, and hundreds of ballots were found bundled in mailboxes. A judge voided the 3rd Ward result; Alex Mendez won the rerun by 9 votes. Councilmen Mendez and Michael Jackson were indicted. Mendez’s case was dismissed in April 2026 on speedy-trial grounds and an undisclosed witness immunity deal. Jackson’s case also collapsed in May 2026 after a state investigator gave the grand jury inaccurate information. Correction to earlier framing: no conviction of the councilmen.

Result voided; prosecution failed

Bridgeport CT, Sept 2023 Dem mayoral primary

Ganim beat Gomes by 251 votes (4,212 to 3,961) after winning absentees roughly 2-to-1. Surveillance video showed stacks of ballots stuffed into drop boxes. Judge William Clark voided the result and ordered a new primary (Ganim won the Jan 2024 redo). Feb 2025: five people charged, including Wanda Geter-Pataky (96 counts). As of Aug 2026 she and Alfredo Castillo rejected plea deals and chose jury trials.

Result voided; charges pending

Frio County TX, 2024 (Paxton)

Nine people were indicted, later 15 defendants including County Judge Rochelle Camacho and city officials, for paid vote harvesting. All pleaded not guilty. No convictions as of Nov 2026. A related $50M defamation suit was dismissed in May 2026.

Pending

B. Voter-roll anomalies and what follow-up found

Claim / anomaly

What follow-up found

Status

Fulton County GA (AJC 2013): over 100 people voted in 2012 while registered at demolished public-housing sites

Real roll decay: 10,000 or more addresses didn’t match. AJC found mostly ex-residents who had moved but kept old registrations. Officials began a cleanup; no fraud prosecutions reported

Anomaly real; fraud unsubstantiated

Venice CA, 2026: 26 voters ‘at a vacant lot’ (viral video, 1.3M views)

LA County: the site was a Bridge Home homeless shelter until Dec 31, 2024. State law lets homeless voters register at a shelter. 23 active records remained, subject to undeliverable-mail inactivation

Unsubstantiated (PolitiFact: False)

Clark County NV and Detroit MI: ‘voters at vacant lots’ (Crowder, 2021)

Clark County found typos by the video makers (wrong street or direction) and some clerical errors in county records. Real addresses included senior apartments

Unsubstantiated as fraud; some record errors

Wisconsin 2024: 30,084 mail-ballot requests at ‘fishy addresses’ (CommonSense Elections)

Commercial data-matching (moved, undeliverable, missing apartment number). No official finding of illegal votes published. In a separate RNC complaint, the Wisconsin Elections Commission showed the ballots flagged had already been voided when the voter went inactive or died

Unverified / mostly explained

Jeff Davis Parish LA (KPLC 2023): registrations at vacant lots and dilapidated homes

Registrar removed some names and sent 18 address-verification letters

List cleanup; no charges reported

‘Up to ~40 ballots tied to one vacant house’

Not located in local news, court or official sources this turn for any U.S. state. The closest documented items are the Venice lot (26 registrations, a shelter) and Fulton’s demolished-housing voters (over 100 across several sites). Treat it as unverified until the address, county and election are known

Unverified

C. Dead voters and duplicates: what audits found

Item

Detail

Assessment

Georgia 2020

Trump claimed 5,000 dead voters; SOS investigators found 4 ballots cast in dead people’s names, all by relatives, and referred them for prosecution.

4 substantiated

Michigan 2020 (Auditor General, 2022)

1,616 counted ballots came from people dead by Election Day (0.03% of 5.5M). Most were absentee ballots legally cast before the voter died. Clerks rejected another 3,469 such ballots. Duplicate votes were minimal.

Mostly lawful

2024 rejection data (EAVS)

11.1% of rejected mail ballots (about 36,000 nationally) were rejected because the voter had already cast another accepted ballot. The double-vote check catches these, but it shows how often attempts or mistakes happen.

Caught by system

ERIC

Since 2013 member states have been flagged on 14.6M cross-state movers and 1.46M in-state duplicate registrations (to Sept 2026). These are list-cleanup leads, not fraud findings. Kansas’s Crosscheck (closed 2019) had about 99% false positives; a study estimated about 300 legitimate registrations would be wrongly purged for every real double vote.

Data

Heritage database

387 ‘fraudulent use of absentee ballots’ cases (as of Dec 2025) out of about 1,600 total cases, spanning decades. It is a sample of proven cases, not a measure of how common fraud is.

Proven cases

D. Scale of roll clutter (EAVS 2024)

Metric

2024 value

Active registrations

211,144,275

Inactive registrations (need address confirmation before voting)

23,184,185 (about 1 in 10)

Records removed, 2022 to 2024 registration close

21,298,175

Confirmation notices sent / returned undeliverable / never answered

38.8M sent / 8.4% undeliverable / 69.7% unanswered

Mail ballots sent / returned / counted

66.9M / 48.0M (72%) / 47.6M (98.8%)

Share of jurisdictions using undeliverable mail ballots to flag voters for removal

64.8%

The national count of undeliverable domestic mail ballots (EAVS item C1c) is not stated in the EAC narrative. Advocacy figures (e.g. PILF’s roughly 1M+ for 2020) were not re-verified this turn.

E. Nursing homes and audits

Item

Detail

Assessment

Racine County WI nursing home, 2020

Sheriff Schmaling said 8 residents at Ridgewood Care Center who lacked capacity had voted, after the Elections Commission suspended visits by special voting deputies. The Racine DA declined to charge commissioners (no jurisdiction). Milwaukee and other DAs also declined, finding insufficient evidence; staff weren’t charged. Real procedural breach (law suspended without authority), but not prosecutable fraud.

No charges

Arizona (Maricopa) 2021 Cyber Ninjas review

The hand count confirmed Biden’s win. Claims of voters at vacant or ‘moved’ addresses relied on commercial data; Maricopa’s rebuttal found almost all were lawful (e.g. military, students, address-confidential voters). AP: ‘nonsensical conclusions’.

Unsubstantiated

Michigan 2020 (Senate GOP oversight report, Auditor General)

No evidence of widespread fraud. Dead-voter counts were mostly timing, not fraud.

Unsubstantiated as widespread

F. Margins: why small numbers matter

Race

Margin

Paterson 3rd Ward rerun, 2020

9 votes

Virginia HD-94, 2017

Tie, decided by drawing a name from a bowl

Bridgeport primary, 2023

251 votes (voided)

Florida presidential, 2000

537 votes

NC-09, 2018

905 votes (voided)

Arizona presidential, 2020

10,457 votes

Georgia presidential, 2020

11,779 votes

Wisconsin presidential, 2020

20,682 votes

One operative with a crew (Dowless had a few dozen ballots per worker) can exceed margins at the bottom of this table. No documented scheme has come close to the statewide presidential margins.

4. Good or bad for society

Verdict: Mail voting with loose ballot-return rules and stale rolls is a real vulnerability. It has demonstrably flipped local and congressional results, which is more than can be said for in-person impersonation or noncitizen voting. The fix is not ending mail voting, which serves millions and is mostly honest. The fix is tightening the few points where operatives intervene: who may carry ballots, ID on the envelope, signature checks with notice and cure, drop-box cameras, and steady list maintenance. Viral ‘vacant house’ claims usually dissolve on follow-up; organized local harvesting does not.

Trade-offs of tightening

Risks of tightening

+ Limits on who can return ballots plus custody logs would have flagged NC-09 and Bridgeport earlier

+ ID numbers on envelopes verify the voter more objectively than signature matching

+ Clean rolls remove the raw material for misdirected ballots

– Texas SB 1 ID rules caused about 12% of mail ballots to be rejected in the March 2022 primary before the rate fell

– Aggressive purges hit eligible voters (Crosscheck’s 99% false positives)

– Harvesting bans can criminalize innocent help to elderly or disabled voters

  1. Require ID number (last 4 of SSN or driver’s license number) on mail ballot envelopes, with a cure period.
  2. Limit ballot return to family, household or caregivers, require the returner’s name on the envelope, and ban per-ballot pay.
  3. Put cameras on drop boxes and publish the footage when results are challenged (the Bridgeport video was the key evidence).
  4. Belong to ERIC or an equivalent, run monthly SSA death matches, and process undeliverable mail before each election.
  5. Fund state election-crimes units with speedy-trial discipline; collapsed cases (Paterson) destroy deterrence.
  6. Require citizen auditors’ address lists to go to counties for follow-up before they’re published as fraud.

Anomaly and case table

Case

Type

Scale

Official conclusion

NC-09 2018

Paid harvesting/alteration

Hundreds of ballots; 905 margin

Substantiated; voided; pleas

Paterson NJ 2020

Mail ballot fraud alleged

19% disqualified

Voided; charges dismissed 2026

Bridgeport CT 2023

Drop-box stuffing

251 margin

Voided; 5 charged, pending

Frio County TX 2024

Paid harvesting

15 defendants

Pending

Georgia dead voters 2020

Impersonation

4 ballots

Substantiated (relatives)

Michigan dead voters 2020

Timing

1,616 counted

Mostly lawful

Racine nursing home 2020

Procedural breach

8 residents

No charges

Fulton demolished housing 2012

Roll decay

Over 100 voters

No charges reported

Venice CA lot 2026

Address claim

26 registrations

Shelter; false

Wisconsin 30,084 requests 2024

Commercial data claim

30,084

Unverified

‘~40 ballots at a vacant house’

Address claim

~40

Not found / unverified

Who supports / who opposes

For = expanding mail voting and ballot collection. Against = tightening absentee rules. Mixed = a proven harvesting fraud case. Each row cites a numbered source below. Checked Nov 4, 2026.

Who

Party / level

Position

Evidence

Ref

Asm. Lorena Gonzalez (D); Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA)

Democrat

For

AB 1921 (2016) lets anyone a voter designates return their mail ballot

[1]

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA); Sen. Dave Min (D)

Democrat

For

SB 1174 (2024) bars local voter-ID rules, aimed at Huntington Beach Measure A

[2]

Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA)

Republican

Against

Signed SB 202 (2021), adding ID for absentee ballots and limiting drop boxes

[3]

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX)

Republican

Against

Signed SB 1 (2021), tightening mail and assistance rules

[4]

President Donald Trump

Republican

Against

EO of Mar 25, 2025 on ballot receipt deadlines and voter-list checks

[5]

McCrae Dowless (R operative), NC-9

Republican

Mixed

Absentee-ballot fraud led to a new 2019 election

[6]

Cross-party defectors: The California Republican Party set up its own unofficial ballot-collection boxes in 2020; AG Becerra (D) and SoS Padilla (D) ordered them removed [7]. Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema voted with all Republicans against changing the filibuster for the Freedom to Vote Act; the rules change failed 52–48 (Jan 19, 2022) [8].

How positions shifted: Republicans led on absentee voting before 2020 (e.g., Florida, Utah). After 2020, GOP positions turned against mail voting, while Democrats expanded it.

Sources for this section:

References

[1] AP: Dowless dies before trial. apnews.com. https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-north-carolina-general-raleigh-1f8751124b441d55be5f9317a2124e55

[2] WSOC: NC9 saga ends with two guilty pleas. wsoctv.com. https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/with-two-guilty-pleas-nc9-election-fraud-saga-comes-an-end/HSJOA7VKRNH5JJKC3B4UV5KZD4/

[3] NorthJersey: 19% of Paterson votes disqualified. northjersey.com. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/paterson-press/2020/05/20/paterson-nj-election-officials-disqualify-19-percent-votes-cast/5233032002/

[4] NJ Globe: Mendez charges dropped (Apr 2026). newjerseyglobe.com. https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/voter-fraud-charges-against-paterson-councilman-dropped-after-six-years/

[5] NorthJersey: case against Jackson falls apart (May 2026). northjersey.com. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/paterson-press/2026/05/15/nj-ag-election-fraud-case-against-paterson-councilman-michael-jackson-falls-apart/90099539007/

[6] Paterson Times: rerun results. patersontimes.com. https://patersontimes.com/2020/11/20/khalique-and-mendez-win-paterson-council-seats-in-do-over-elections/

[7] AP: judge orders new Bridgeport primary. apnews.com. https://apnews.com/article/connecticut-judge-bridgeport-ganim-mayor-election-1e6d23567703c55430968ffdaa0b6369

[8] CT Division of Criminal Justice: five charged. portal.ct.gov. https://portal.ct.gov/dcj/press-releases/division-of-criminal-justice/02212025bridgeportarrests

[9] CT Mirror: Geter-Pataky opts for jury trial (Aug 2026). ctmirror.org. https://ctmirror.org/2026/08/25/wanda-jeter-pataky-bridgeport-absentee-ballot-alfredo-castillo-jury-trial/

[10] Texas AG: Frio County indictments. texasattorneygeneral.gov. https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-releases-information-indictments-and-arrests-nine-individuals-including

[11] KSAT: 15 Frio County defendants in court. ksat.com. https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2025/08/14/15-suspects-including-frio-county-judge-make-court-appearance-in-vote-harvesting-scandal/

[12] 5th Circuit: Texas paid-harvesting ban upheld. ca5.uscourts.gov. https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/24/24-50783-CV0.pdf

[13] AJC: Fulton voters registered at empty lots (2013). ajc.com. https://www.ajc.com/news/scores-fulton-voters-registered-empty-lots/qYmxU9nMncqrcyTj63RlUL/

[14] PolitiFact: Venice vacant lot was a shelter. politifact.com. https://politifact.com/factchecks/2026/jan/21/benny-johnson/california-register-to-vote-toilet-no-fraud/

[15] Lead Stories: Crowder vacant-address video errors. leadstories.com. https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2021/02/fact-check-louder-with-crowder-video-of-vacant-voter-addresses-is-not-proof-of-voter-fraud.html

[16] Daily Signal: 30,084 Wisconsin requests (claim). dailysignal.com. https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/10/25/wisconsin-who-requested-30084-mail-in-ballots-fishy-addresses/

[17] Wisconsin Elections Commission letter to RNC. wpr.org. https://wpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Letter-to-RNC-9.27.24.pdf

[18] KPLC: Jeff Davis Parish irregularities. kplctv.com. https://www.kplctv.com/2023/05/04/voting-irregularities-under-investigation-jeff-davis-parish/

[19] AJC: just 4 dead voters in Georgia. ajc.com. https://www.ajc.com/politics/alleged-dead-georgia-voters-found-alive-and-well-after-2020-election/DAL3VY7NFNHL5OREMHD7QECOCA/

[20] Bridge Michigan: Auditor General on dead/duplicate voters. bridgemi.com. https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-audit-minimal-duplicate-dead-voters-2020-presidential-vote/

[21] WISN: no charges in Racine nursing home case. wisn.com. https://www.wisn.com/article/no-charges-over-ballots-cast-at-nursing-home-2020-election/39050584

[22] AP: Arizona canvass report conclusions. apnews.com. https://apnews.com/article/elections-media-arizona-ap-fact-check-phoenix-96f95a57cd361006d3398b0902a3e0d8

[23] EAC: 2024 EAVS Comprehensive Report. eac.gov. https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/2024_EAVS_Report_508.pdf

[24] EAC: 2024 EAVS Data Brief (US). eac.gov. https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/2026-07/2024_EAVS_Data_Brief_US.pdf

[25] ERIC statistics. ericstates.org. https://ericstates.org/statistics/

[26] Ars Technica: Crosscheck 99% false positives. arstechnica.com. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/10/researchers-warn-state-system-to-catch-voter-fraud-has-99-false-positive-rate/

[27] Judicial Watch: LA County 1.5M settlement. judicialwatch.org. https://www.judicialwatch.org/california-and-los-angeles-county-to-remove-1-5-million-inactive-voters-from-voter-rolls-settle-judicial-watch-federal-lawsuit/

[28] Heritage Election Fraud Database. heritage.org. https://electionfraud.heritage.org/

[29] Ballotpedia: absentee/mail ballot fraud. ballotpedia.org. https://ballotpedia.org/Absentee/mail-in_ballot_vote_fraud

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