2009 House Bill 4367 (Allow no-reason absentee voting )

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Introduced by Rep. Woodrow Stanley (D) on February 19, 2009, to eliminate the requirement that a person give a specific reason for requesting an absentee ballot.
- Referred to the House Ethics and Elections Committee on February 19, 2009.
  - Reported in the House on April 22, 2009, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
- Substitute offered in the House on April 30, 2009. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on April 30, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on April 30, 2009, to prohibit a candidate, a candidate staff member, or a member of an organization that has been found guilty of committing vote fraud (such as ACORN) from possessing a signed absentee ballot application that is not his or her own. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on April 30, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Tom McMillin (R) on April 30, 2009, to prohibit a candidate, a candidate staff member, or a member of an organization that has been found guilty of committing vote fraud (such as ACORN) from being an official election assistant, deputy or official, or turning in another persons completed absentee ballot. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on April 30, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Bettie Scott (D) on April 30, 2009, to require a person to show a photo ID when returning an absentee ballot application. If the application is mailed the person can send a photocopy of the ID. If done in person, a person without an ID could sign an affidavit of identity instead. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on April 30, 2009.
Passed in the House (79 to 30) on April 30, 2009. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the Senate on May 6, 2009.
- Referred to the Senate Government Operations and Reform Committee on May 6, 2009.

Most Recent Comments

1) Re: 2009 House Bill 4367 (Allow no-reason absentee voting ) [by gypsy on May 6, 2009]

Fact: Republicans want to keep voter numbers low, Democrats want to increase them. Why? There are more poor people than rich people.

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2) Re: 2009 House Bill 4367 (Allow no-reason absentee voting ) [by Admin003 on May 1, 2009]

Rep. Agema, having reserved the right to explain his protest against the passage of the bill, made the following statement:

“Mr. Speaker and members of the House:

Voting is the bedrock of our democracy and we must be careful that any changes to the way we vote protects the integrity of our elections. Allowing no-reason absentee voting greatly increases the potential for voter fraud and undermines confidence in our election results.

Absentee ballots are already available for seniors, people who are ill or incapacitated, military members on active duty and people who will not be in town on Election Day. If we want to increase early voting, the proper way to do it is to allow voters to vote at their clerk’s office before the election, in person, where their identity can be verified.

Another concern is that we may not want to encourage people to vote before Election Day because they will not have all the information available during a campaign to make an informed decision. This is a voter fraud enabler bill.”

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3) Re: 2009 House Bill 4367 (Allow no-reason absentee voting ) [by Admin003 on May 1, 2009]

Reps. Meekhof, Kowall, Haines and Schuitmaker, having reserved the right to explain their protest against the passage of the bill, made the following statement:

“Mr. Speaker and members of the House:

Another concern is that we may not want to encourage people to vote before Election Day because they will not have all the information available during a campaign to make an informed decision.”

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