Senate committee advances package of election bills, tightens absentee and recount rules; National Guard cleanup passes

A Senate committee on STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS on the record advanced a slate of bills on election procedure, public-records protections and military justice changes.

Matt McKee, identifying himself as "Matt McKee, state senate 6," opened discussion of Senate bill 2 55 and the committee moved it by voice vote. The panel then considered House bill 14 07, adopting two amendments: one to require third-party voter-registration collectors to inform registrants they may not be able to file the registration before a deadline, and a second with language the secretary of state's office requested to help implement a citizenship-verification system.

"Basically, this, just sets up the system by which the secretary of state can make sure that if you're registered to vote in Arkansas, you live here legally, and you are a qualified elector, that you're on the voter rolls," the proponent said during discussion of the citizenship-verification language.

The committee also approved a measure to strengthen chain-of-custody rules for absentee ballots. Matt Stone (presenting as state senate, District 2) described the bill as prohibiting unsolicited absentee ballots, requiring that mailed ballots be requested, and requiring that printed ballots be blank and that anyone picking up a ballot be authorized and provide identification to prevent fraud involving vulnerable voters.

"When the ballot is printed,…