An Act relating to qualifications of voters; relating to the registration of voters; relating to election districts and officials; relating to election procedures and ballots; relating to special procedures for elections; relating to nomination of candidates; relating to national elections; relating to special elections and appointments; relating to constitutional amendments; relating to election offenses and corrupt practices; relating to election pamphlets; relating to the deferral of jury service for certain election officials; relating to an exemption from the State Procurement Code regarding election ballots; relating to the provision and use of mailing addresses on permanent fund dividend applications for election purposes; relating to the inclusion of voter registration forms with permanent fund dividend applications; making conforming amendments in references to 'election district' and 'chairman'; and providing for an effective date.

Updated: February 8, 2000

House Bill 163 is primarily a housekeeping bill that will update current election law to conform with the optical scanning ballot tabulation system.

The goal of House Bill 163 is to make the electoral process more efficient while continuing to maintain the integrity of the process.

In addition to housekeeping measures which are outlined in an accompanying sectional analysis, House Bill 163 contains three policy changes which will help make the election process more efficient for both the electorate and the Division of Elections.

Write-in Candidates

It became apparent after the 1998 gubernatorial election that the state needs clear procedures for the qualification of write-in candidates and for the counting of votes. House Bill 163 will prohibit the use of stickers by write-in candidates. Write-in stickers cannot be used with the state's optical scan ballot tabulation system. The Division has been advised by the manufacturer, Global Elections Systems, that stickers could damage the Accu-Vote machines.

Revision of Absentee by Personal Representative Process

The current statutory process is too cumbersome and the resulting mistakes by people attempting to assist other voters have resulted in the disqualification of many ballots. Current law requires the personal representative to deliver an application to the voter, return the application to an election official, pick up the ballot and voting material, deliver the material to the voter and then return the voted ballot and material to an election official, and multiple signatures on a complex form. The new process would allow the personal representative to deliver an application and voting material at one time and then return the voted ballot and material to an election official. The same checks and balances remain in place to protect the integrity of the electoral process.

Change to the Absentee In-Person Voting Process

Early voting would apply to absentee voting in the regional election office absentee voting stations. Voters registered in a house district in which the regional election office has jurisdiction would no longer be required to complete an absentee oath and affidavit envelope. This will significantly reduce the number of absentee ballots requiring review by the division of elections. If a voter's residence address information is different from that which appears on the division's records at the time of voting, the voter will be required to complete an oath and affidavit envelope.

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