A Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America openly promotes it’s guide to instructing volunteers about how to pressure voters to cast ballots on the spot and hand them over for delivery.
The practice, commonly known as ballot harvesting, is legal in California, but remains highly controversial.
The guide, titled “How To: Ballot Delivery,” was published by the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America in May 2022, where it has remained ever since.
The instructions walk volunteers through a step-by-step process for collecting completed mail ballots from voters and delivering them on their behalf.
The directions include instructions for volunteers asking voters whether they will cast their ballot immediately and, if they hesitate, to keep pressing.
“Will you vote now?” the guide asks volunteers to say before adding: “Ask at least 3 times.”
The document also suggests volunteers tell voters they can help ensure a ballot does not get “lost in the mail” by filling it out immediately and signing it over for delivery.
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The suggested script for this reads: “I want to make sure that your ballot doesn’t get lost in the mail or in the city bureaucracy.”
“If we fill it out together right now, there’s an official place to sign it over to me and I can bring it to the city directly either today or first thing tomorrow morning.”
Volunteers are then instructed to ensure voters place all ballot pages in the envelope before signing the required sections.
The guide further directs volunteers to complete the portion of the envelope identifying the person returning the ballot and, under their relationship to the voter, write “Volunteer.”
Once collected, volunteers are instructed to either return ballots to DSA-LA canvass leaders or deposit them in a mailbox or official ballot drop box.
State law allows voters to designate another person to return a completed vote-by-mail ballot on their behalf, provided the required information is completed on the ballot envelope.
Critics argue the practice exposes voters to pressure or undue influence, while supporters say it helps increase participation among voters who may have difficulty returning ballots themselves.
The Post visited several locations with large concentrations of registered voters on Monday and Tuesday and spoke with nearly 20 individuals about voting and voter registration.
Many said they knew they were registered to vote but could not recall who registered them, whether they had recently voted or what happened to their ballots after registration.
One of those interviewed was Don Garza, a disabled veteran who has lived on Skid Row since 1999.
Garza said voter registration is common in Skid Row and that nonprofit organizations regularly conduct voter registration drives throughout the area.
“We are tired of it. We don’t want people coming in and deciding elections and taking advantage of us,” Garza said.
“Every one of them thinks they have claim to our voice. They think they speak for us.”
He also told The Post that voter registration is offered when homeless residents apply for public benefits.
“Whenever you go and apply for Medi-Cal, GR, or food stamps, you are asked if you want to register to vote,” Garza said.
The DSA guide remains online as California’s ballot collection laws and election procedures continue to draw attention following the June primary election.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton said the document was consistent with concerns he has raised about ballot collection and political organizing in California.
“I think what you’re seeing is years and years of the Democrat machine being built up for moments like this,” Hilton told The Post.
Hilton pointed to investigations involving taxpayer-funded organizations and said that some publicly funded groups engage in voter registration and political activity.
“It’s at moments like this that that comes to fruition through ballot harvesting,” he said.
Hilton also referenced the immigrant-rights group CHIRLA and other advocacy organizations.
“The unions, the activist groups, the nonprofits, this whole machine that’s been built. And this is when it comes into its own, when they harvest ballots for elections,” Hilton said.
“That is the system that they’ve built. And you’re seeing it in action right now.”
Hilton also criticized California’s election process and ongoing ballot count.
“The election fiasco has opened people’s eyes to what’s going on with the voting system,” Hilton said.
“And so I think the attention on these things is why we can have real hope that there’ll be real change, that we’ll get consensus for reform on the voting rules and cut out the fraud.”
Federal prosecutors have recently signaled interest in reviewing California’s election system, while critics have pointed to the state’s permissive ballot collection laws as a potential vulnerability.
Supporters of ballot collection, meanwhile, note that the practice is explicitly authorized under California law and has been used by organizations across the political spectrum.
