- Committee -

SCS/SB 675 - This act modifies numerous election law provisions.

The act prohibits any person from being a candidate for municipal office if such person has failed to pay municipal taxes or user fees.

The definition of electronic voting is expanded to include computerized voting systems.

In jurisdictions with a board of election commissioners, the act changes the composition of the board to add a non-voting representative from each major political party to participate in discussions of the board.

Provisions relating to the composition and party affiliation of election judges are modified. Additionally, election judges will no longer count ballots based on the voter's intent.

The act prohibits any employer from taking an adverse action against an employee based on the employee's service as an election judge.

The state must pay its proportional share of all election costs.

Certain days in June and August are designated as possible public election days.

Election authorities shall establish an advance voting system for use in presidential election years.

Certain persons who register to vote by mail shall not be able to vote by absentee ballot until such person has first voted in person and presented proper identification at a polling place.

Voter registration agencies are required to transmit all voter registration applications to the appropriate election authority within five business days.

Certain individuals are exempted from the public disclosure of their residential addresses.

The Secretary of State shall promulgate rules to allow the use of a computerized voting systems and may develop multilingual sample ballots and instructions. The Secretary of State shall oversee elections and ensure election laws are enforced. The Secretary of State shall have subpoena power in order to determine if election law violations have occurred. On a monthly basis, the Secretary of State shall collect the names of felons, deceased persons and incapacitated persons from counties and transmit that information to election authorities.

The ability to cast absentee ballots in certain situations is expanded. Provision for the delivery, witnessing and returning of an absentee ballot of a person hospitalized within a certain time before an election by certain relatives of the hospitalized person are created.

Butterfly ballots shall not be used without prior approval from the Secretary of State. The Secretary must act on requests to use the butterfly ballot within two business days of such request.

Currently, it is a criminal misdemeanor to conduct certain types of activities within 25 feet of a polling place. The act changes the distance to 50 feet.

The Attorney General shall have authority to prosecute allegations of election irregularity and fraud.

The act establishes a system of provisional voting in cases where the eligibility of a voter cannot be immediately established.

Numerous matching grants of up to five million dollars are created for election authorities to upgrade and improve the voting process or equipment, and to increase the compensation of election judges to at least seven dollars per hour.

JIM ERTLE