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• Introduced by Rep. Chris Ward (R) on February 8, 2005, to require a local elections clerk or the secretary of a school board to maintain a list of those who have indicated they want to be considered permanent absentee voters. This would allow these voters to automatically receive absentee voter ballots and information for every election.
  • Referred to the House Oversight, Elections and Ethics Committee on February 8, 2005.
    • Reported in the House on February 22, 2006, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-3) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the House on March 2, 2006, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that does not require local clerks to maintain a list of those who have indicated they want to be considered permanent absentee voters, but does consider a request to receive an absentee ballot for a particular election to be considered as a request for absentee ballots in future elections also. After this version was recommended by a House committee a news report revealed that ballots were cast in the name of dead voters in the previous election, so the bill was instead used as a "vehicle" to address this and related issues. The substitute failed by voice vote in the House on March 2, 2006.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Chris Ward (R) on March 2, 2006, to require local election clerks to place a voter who has missed five consecutive elections, including at least two November general elections, on an inactive voter list. A voter on the list could still vote using a provisional ballot, which requires additional identity verification procedures. The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on March 2, 2006.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Chris Ward (R) on March 2, 2006, to require the Secretary of State to search the Qualified Voter File every six months and remove any dead people from the list. The amendment passed 89 to 6 in the House on March 2, 2006.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Chris Ward (R) on March 2, 2006, to require the Secretary of State to search the Qualified Voter File every six months and remove any non-citizens from the list. The amendment passed 74 to 26 in the House on March 2, 2006.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Chris Ward (R) on March 2, 2006, to require the Department of Corrections to send the Secretary of State a list of imprisoned felons every month, and require the Secretary of State to remove these felons from the Qualified Voter File and notify local election clerks of this. Local clerks would then be required to remove the felons from local voter rolls. The amendment passed 100 to 1 in the House on March 2, 2006.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Chris Ward (R) on March 2, 2006, to require the Secretary of State to send every voter listed on the state Qualified Voter File a form asking whether the voter wants to be placed on a list of those who want an absentee ballot in each future election. If a voter does not respond, or the letter is returned as undeliverable, the person would be placed on an inactive voter list. A voter on the inactive list could still vote using a provisional ballot, which requires additional identity verification procedures. The Secretary of State would then notify local election clerks of voters who want to be on a permanent absentee ballot list. The amendment passed 61 to 40 in the House on March 2, 2006.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Chris Ward (R) on March 2, 2006, to "clean up" the bill by removing the original provisions, which conflict with some provisions added by the House amendments. The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on March 2, 2006.
• Passed 70 to 31 in the House on March 2, 2006, to require local election clerks to place a voter who has missed five consecutive elections, including at least two November general elections, on an inactive voter list. A voter on the list could still vote using a provisional ballot, which requires additional identity verification procedures. Also, to require the Secretary of State to search the Qualified Voter File every six months and remove any dead people or non-citizens. To also require the Department of Corrections to send the Secretary of State a list of imprisoned felons every month, and require the Secretary of State to remove these felons from the QVF, and notify local election clerks of this. Local clerks would then be required to remove the felons from local voter rolls. Finally, to require the Secretary of State to send every voter listed on the QVF a form asking whether the voter wants to be placed on a list of those who want an absentee ballot in each future election. If a voter does not respond, or the letter is returned as undeliverable, the person would be placed on an inactive voter list. Local election clerks would then be given the list of voters who want to be on a permanent absentee ballot list.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the House on March 2, 2006, to give the bill immediate effect. Failed 57 to 44 in the House on March 2, 2006.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the Senate on March 7, 2006.
  • Referred to the Senate Government Operations and Reform Committee on March 7, 2006.