The Independent View: Electionline Weekly-March 17, 2016

Legislative Updates

Alaska: The Bethel City Council is considering a proposal that will move the city to all vote-by-mail elections in an effort to increase turnout.

Arizona: A bill to keep voters from casting ballots using the names of dead people received preliminary approval Monday in the Arizona Senate even though there was no evidence that type of fraud was occurring in the state.

Colorado: Secretary of State Wayne Williams has approved the circulation of petitions that support a ballot initiative to put automatic voter registration before the voters. Proposal organizers must collect 98,492 valid voter signatures and submit them by 3 p.m. June 24 to the Secretary of State's office for review.

Also in Colorado, legislation requiring voters to show a photo ID in order to vote has advanced in the Senate.

Florida: Gov. Rick Scott has signed SB 112 into law. Under the new law, elections officials will be allowed to refer to ballots as vote-by-mail ballots instead of absentee ballots.

Idaho: The Senate State Affairs Committee is considering legislation that would allow conceal carry permits to serve as one of the acceptable forms of ID in order to vote.

Iowa: House File 2147 has been approved by both chambers of the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Terry Branstad. The bill, championed by Secretary of State Paul Pate, gives Iowans serving or visiting overseas an extra 30 days to request, receive and return special absentee ballots, extending the time from 90 days to 120 days prior to an election.

Kentucky: A Senate committee has approved a Constitutional amendment that would give the General Assembly the power to restore voting rights to convicted felons without the need for a Gubernatorial pardon. Senate Bill 299 wouldn’t automatically restore voting rights, but instead it would allow the legislature to do it by statute. It passed the Senate State and Local Government Committee on a 10-0 vote.

Michigan: A bill before the House Elections Committee would allow voters to take a photo of themselves or their ballot in a polling place, but photographing others would remain illegal.

New Hampshire: The House has approved legislation to institute a 10-day residency requirement for potential voters. Last year, Gov. Maggie Hassan vetoed a 30-day residency requirement.

New Jersey: Lawmakers heard testimony this week in support of legislation that would allow New Jersey residents to go online to register to vote.

Rhode Island: By a 30-6 vote, the Senate has approved legislation to allow for online voter registration. The House approved a similar bill last month and Gov. Gina Raimondo is expected to sign it.

Washington: The Senate has rejected two bills supported by Secretary of State Kim Wyman. One bill would have created automatic voter registration and the other would have allowed 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote.

West Virginia: Legislation requiring West Virginians to show an ID is on its way to Gov. Early Ray Tomblin’s desk following some amendments to the acceptable forms of ID. Acceptable forms of ID include: local, county or state-issued government card, a debit or bank card, a health insurance card, as well as an affidavit signed by a poll worker on site identifying the voter as someone they have known for at least six months.

Wisconsin: The Senate has given final approval to online voter registration. In addition, the bill also allows veterans to use their veteran ID to cast a ballot. Gov. Scott Walker signed the bill into law on Wednesday. The veteran voter ID provision will be in place by the April 5 election.