Absentee vote changes may have invited ‘ballot harvesting’

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Changes made to absentee voting procedures five years ago in North Carolina may have emboldened workers to run the type of illegal “ballot-harvesting” operation alleged to have been used in a disputed congressional race.
That’s according to election experts and lawmakers.
Some observers are concerned that the changes made it possible for more people to apply for absentee ballots. Then so-called harvesters could collect unsealed ballots and manipulate