Voting via email gets put on hold after Senate floor debate

A bill that aims to make it easier for service members and others overseas to vote from abroad was put on hold today after debate on the topic broke out on the Senate floor.

The proposal would allow people overseas to vote by email. It would also change several dates and deadlines in the election cycle, including the date of the of the primary election and the due-date for candidates to file, in order to allow more time for election info and ballots to make it abroad.

Supporters of the measure say that by making it easier for those overseas to vote, more of their votes will be counted, making the election system more fair.

But opponents on the floor said they very concerned about what emailing votes will do the integrity of elections. Others said the bill calls for major changes that could have a significant effect on the way the political decisions are made.

Sen. Pam Roach said she is the mother of a soldier who is deployed overseas. However, she said, that does not mean that bills like these should move so quickly through the legislature. Roach said she considers herself an expert on the election system and that she would like more time to review it more carefully. “I want my son to be able to vote. I want his family to be able to vote,” she said. “The issue here is we have something before us that has not been studied.”

“The bill has been out there a number of weeks now,” said Sen. Craig Pridemore. He said the bill made it out of committee without much debate but that there was room to put it down for now.

Further consideration of the bill was deferred and could still come up for a vote. Both Senators Roach and Pridemore signed on to sponsor the bill and gave it a do pass vote out of the Senate Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections committee.

Tags: elections, overseas voting