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Bill to let disabled Montanans return ballots electronically splits election and disability groups
Summary
House Bill 488 would let voters with disabilities return voted absentee ballots using an encrypted electronic transmission approved by the Secretary of State; disability advocates urged the change as a privacy and access fix, while the Secretary of State’s elections director warned federal agencies consider electronic ballot return high risk.
Representative Julie Darling opened the hearing on House Bill 488, which would allow a disabled elector to return a voted ballot by an encrypted electronic transmission system approved by the Secretary of State and would require the Secretary of State to adopt encryption and security standards for electronic transmission systems.
Advocates with the National Federation of the Blind, independent living centers, Disability Rights Montana and other organizations described barriers blind and otherwise disabled voters face when returning absentee ballots. Jacob Krzovich of the National Federation of the Blind told the committee it can take him "approximately two hours" to travel to vote and that he lacks the same convenient absentee options used by most Montanans. Several proponent witnesses emphasized that the proposal would not be online voting — ballots…
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