Attorneys for a Phoenix-area election volunteer and the state of Arizona faced off before the Ninth Circuit Wednesday over a state law restricting who can deliver ballots for people who can’t get out to vote. A recent Arizona law forbids most non-family volunteers from delivering ballots to polling places — something that used to be a widespread practice. According to volunteer poll worker Rivko Knox and her attorney, Spencer Scharff, the 2015 law conflicts with federal postal laws that allow deliveries like the ones Knox hopes to make. The case hinges on several aspects of federal postal law, which allows some private carriers to deliver mail when they are engaged in official duties and using a postal route. The state argued that volunteer poll worker deliveries don’t meet those criteria, but Knox’s attorneys say they do.
Federal postal laws are very specific about what mail can be carried by anyone outside the postal system, whether they’re FedEx drivers or polling place volunteers. For example, private carriers are allowed to transport mail that weighs more than 12 ounces and urgent letters that would “lose their value” if not delivered quickly, Scharff said.
Full Article: Ninth Circuit Considers Arizona Ballot Delivery Law.