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Committee restores preprocessing provisions, adds 'applicable' to identity rules and narrows delegation to secretary of state
Summary
The committee restored preprocessing provisions, added "applicable" to identity/domicile rules, and removed a proposed delegation to the secretary of state to process error corrections.
The committee of conference reached a compromise on absentee ballot preprocessing and identification rules, restoring sections the House had removed and inserting the word "applicable" to clarify when voters must prove identity, domicile or both.
Under the compromise members agreed to remove sections 5 and 6 from the house-amended bill and to add the adjective "applicable" on page 1, line 24 and page 2, line 23. The Chair said the insertion of "applicable" was intended to clarify that a voter who remains registered in the same ward need only prove identity, while a voter registered elsewhere in the state must prove identity and domicile.
The committee also struck a newly proposed sentence in the house-amended draft that would have permitted the secretary of state to process errors identified during the process. A House member expressed concern that language giving that broad authority was "vague and broad" and preferred to keep error-resolution procedures codified in statute and handled by supervisors of the checklist.
Several senators voiced broader objections to the bill. Senator Perkins said he would not support the bill as amended and argued that recent tightenings in absentee rules and related measures have already led to eligible voters being turned away. "We've seen that, the result of these continuing tightenings on, our right to vote ... has led to over a 100 voters being turned away from the polls," Perkins said, and urged caution about further restrictions.
The Chair reported the House was agreeable to the compromise. The transcript records the Chair saying the committee had secured "3 yeses on this one." The Chair also said he would have amendments written and circulate them for signatures.
The changes documented include specific line and section references (page and line numbers for text edits and the removal of sections 5 and 6), and the Chair indicated he would check with the secretary of state on whether section 6 needed to remain in some form before finalizing the package.
