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Senate committee advances HB 397 after overnight revisions to election rules
Summary
A Senate committee approved HB 397 with several late changes that remove DMV citizenship questions, delay any ERIC removal until 2027, restrict weekend acceptance of absentee ballots and add precinct-level early-voting reporting; opponents pressed for more work on ballot-marking and QR-code issues.
A Senate committee voted to advance House Bill 397 after lawmakers and bill authors made last‑minute changes and debated several election‑administration provisions.
The bill author told the committee the working draft they reviewed was LC 473701S and that three earlier sections were removed: the DMV citizenship‑question language, an appellate authority provision for the State Election Board related to voter‑roll challenges, and a precinct hand‑count reconciliation rule. "After the meeting, Chairman Anderson and I got together," the bill author said, adding the authors "put an implementation date of 07/01/2027" for the ERIC‑related language so the state would retain membership through the 2026 statewide election and allow the Legislature and any newly elected secretary of state time to consider options.
The committee…
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