DeSantis promises to ballot harvest in 2024

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis told an Iowa voter Wednesday night that he plans to use ballot harvesting to win the presidency in 2024.

Ballot harvesting is the practice of employing people to deliver voters’ ballots, rather than the voter traveling to the poll and voting in-person or returning their own ballot.

An Iowa voter leaned into DeSantis and asked if the governor will be ballot harvesting.

“Yes, we will. We will,” DeSantis replied.

“Each state is different,” he continued. “In Nevada, they send everyone a ballot – which is bad – but we’re gonna do ballot harvesting.”

“We’re gonna do ballot harvesting. I’m doing it, yes,” DeSantis said. “I’m not gonna fight with one hand tied behind my back.”

The video of DeSantis was released by Dylan Wells, a campaign reporter for the Washington Post.

DeSantis echoed a similar sentiment in April, before he announced his bid for the presidency, saying Republicans must reject a “culture of losing” and embrace tactics like ballot harvesting where it’s legal.

“But if that’s not the law in your state, you need to use those rules for Republicans advantage,” DeSantis said. “You can’t have Republicans fighting with one hand behind their backs.”

“I think you should have ballot harvesting where it’s legal and then fight to have the legislatures in those states get rid of it, because that’s not the way you should conduct an election,” he said.

The comments came as the governor concluded his final speech in Iowa this week as part of his “Great American Comeback Tour.”

DeSantis officially kicked off his on-the-ground campaign in Des Moines, Iowa earlier this week. Thursday, he is in New Hampshire, and Friday, he will visit South Carolina

Next week, the governor will travel across Texas to court donors and drum up more support for a growing 2024 campaign that aims to unseat former President Donald Trump from his frontrunner lead to be the GOP nominee.

Ballot harvesting is a tactic mainly employed by Democrats, up until 2024 talks heated up and after Republicans suffered losses in 2022 when relying on election day, in-person voters.

In February, Trump backed an idea of using ballot drop boxes to win elections.

“BEST IDEA I’VE HEARD IN A LONG TIME,” Trump said. “PUT THEM ALL OVER THE PLACE. RNC, EVERY REPUBLICAN, GET TO WORK ON THIS NOW!!!”

Scott Presler, a conservative voter turnout and registration activist who toured Florida and other parts of the country in 2022, amped up the rhetoric after the party faced electoral blunders where they were not expected.

He announced the launch of a PAC to target early and mail-in voting in January called “Early Vote Action PAC.”

“This organization aims to build early/mail-in voting infrastructures in AZ, NC, NV, PA, & WI to win the White House in 2024,” Presler tweeted.

“If we win these swing states, Republicans will retake the Senate, strengthen our hold on the House, retake the North Carolina Governor’s Mansion, retake the Nevada Legislature, strengthen our holds on the other respective states’ legislatures, and see victories in down-ballot races at the county and local levels,” the website said.

The PAC plans to recruit and mobilize volunteers from all 50 states.

“Because if we retake these five key states, we can continue our movement’s march into every state across the country with powerful momentum, until every state on the map is ruby Republican red!”

Click here to learn more about EVA.