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Sponsor pulls bill to add age‑based absentee ballot category after clerks raise operational questions
Summary
Representative Whitaker withdrew a proposal to automatically allow voters 65 and older to vote absentee for the year, after committee members and county clerks raised concerns about mailing costs, application language and whether per‑election request language would be preferable.
Representative Whitaker presented House Bill 10‑64 to allow voters who will be 65 or older on election day to receive absentee ballots under a specified process. He said constituents had expected that age alone would make them eligible to vote absentee and that many other states provide a similar option.
Committee members raised procedural and administrative concerns. Representative Beatty observed current Arkansas law places no restriction on who may request an absentee ballot, and questioned whether a year‑long automatic mailing would create extra county costs and duplicate effort for voters who might prefer to vote in person. Representative Collins noted Arkansas already has two different absentee‑application regimes (one that covers an election cycle for persons living out of county and a year‑long option for voters in residential care or with disabilities), which may explain the current statutory structure.
Sherriff and County Clerk representatives (via staff comment) told the committee the absentee application instrument is already lengthy and that adding language could increase mailing pages and cost. Whitaker said he would pull the bill and work on amendments and requested permission to get additional stakeholder input; the chair granted the sponsor’s request and the bill was withdrawn from consideration today.
