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Committee advances bill letting voters with infants or certain disabilities go to front of line
Summary
House Bill 502 would allow voters who have a child under age 2 with them, and voters with disabilities who cannot practicably stand in line, to go to the front of the line at polling places; the committee passed the bill.
The House Governmental Affairs Committee advanced House Bill 502, which would permit voters who have a child under the age of 2 to go to the front of the line at polling places. The legislation also refines an existing disability provision so that a person whose disability makes it impracticable to stand in line may also move to the front.
Sponsor Representative Andre Draper told the committee the bill has been brought before the panel for the past two years and narrows eligibility to those who actually cannot stand or who have very young children. "This is a bill that you all have passed out of committee for the previous 2 years. It is a bill, that will allow people who are going to vote, who have small children with them, to go to the front of the line," Draper said.
Committee members asked a few clarifying questions about how this bill differs from others previously presented. Representative Adesanya asked whether it differed from a proposal by another member; Draper said it was "slightly different." The committee voted to pass the bill by voice vote; members recorded the motion as carried.
