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Committee debates write‑in registration change, earlier justice‑of‑the‑peace deadlines and youth DMV registration
Summary
The committee considered changes to write‑in candidate registration that would limit automatic write‑in counting (unless a named candidate dies or there is no name on the ballot), align justice‑of‑the‑peace nomination timing to ease clerks’ workload, and discussed existing DMV‑based pending registration for 16‑year‑olds.
The Senate Government Operations Committee reviewed election‑administration provisions that would change how write‑in votes are counted, move justice‑of‑the‑peace nomination deadlines earlier in the calendar, and discussed how the DMV’s voter‑registration process handles 16‑year‑olds.
Legislative counsel Tim Devlin described amendments in sections 9–12 that refine rules for write‑in candidates. Under the draft, a prospective write‑in generally must file a candidate form by the Thursday before a primary to have votes counted; the new language removes a prior “notwithstanding” phrase and allows exceptions in limited circumstances: if a named candidate on the ballot dies or if there are no names printed on the ballot, write‑in votes could be counted even without the form. Devlin said the change was based on a…
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