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Committee kills bill to require early voting sites in cities with 15,000+ population
Summary
Representative Jesse McGruder’s bill to require cities with populations above 15,000 to maintain an early voting location was debated; proponents said it guaranteed access, while opponents and at least one member argued it could impose additional county costs. After a roll call the bill did not pass.
House Bill 18-78, which would require cities with populations of 15,000 or more to provide an early voting location, was discussed in committee and ultimately failed after member debate and a roll call.
Sponsor Representative Jesse McGruder said the bill was prompted by a recent local court case and would ensure cities above the population threshold have an early voting site. "This just ensures that cities with a population of 15,000 have an early voting location," McGruder said, and he told the committee clerks and county commissions he consulted did not oppose the measure.
Representative Beatty and others raised fiscal concerns. Beatty argued adding an early voting precinct could create an additional expense for counties and requested a fiscal impact statement; he later withdrew the request after staff reviewed House rules governing when a fiscal statement is required. The chair read House Rule 3.8(s) explaining when fiscal impact statements must be requested for bills that require public spending.
Representative Meeks noted a potential conflict with a recently passed bill that assigned responsibility for setting early-voting locations to county boards of election commissioners and said he was not aware the sponsor had consulted the State Board of Election Commissioners. McGruder replied he had not spoken to the state board and reiterated his view the bill would not create physical cost because counties could repurpose existing machines.
The committee recorded a voice vote and then proceeded to a roll call. The transcript records members answering "yes" and "no" during the roll-call sequence and ends with the chair stating, "Sorry, Representative McGruder. The bills failed." The committee therefore did not advance the bill.
Legislators on both sides described the measure as a narrow change for a particular locality, while others viewed the county boards' statutory role as the proper mechanism for locating early voting sites. Questions remained in the record about fiscal impacts and whether the proposed requirement conflicted with recently adopted procedures for designating early voting locations.
