Voting by mail? Oklahoma bill would require voters to give reason for absentee ballots
More than one out of every four Oklahomans voted early or by mail during the November presidential election. One lawmaker wants to know why.
Logan County's newest state representative, Republican Molly Jenkins, filed House Bill 1515 this session, which would require anyone who votes early or requests an absentee ballot to vote by mail, to explain why they're doing so.
Jenkins says her goal is "enhancing security, transparency and integrity of voting system."
Some lawmakers have raised concerns, however, that the information required is intrusive, unnecessary or could discourage absentee voting in Oklahoma.
Jenkins gives nine allowable reasons why someone won't be voting in-person on Election Day:
Absence from jurisdiction (out of town)
Illness or disability
Employment-related
Education-related
Military service
Religion
Serving as an election official
Seventy-five (75) years of age or older
Serving on jury duty
Voters would have to give a reason or else their application would be denied. Absentee ballot applications are kept for 24 months and are a matter of public record, so a person's reason for wanting an absentee ballot could be made public.
Jenkins' bill narrowly advanced from the House Elections and Ethics Committee on Monday. The vote was briefly tied among the assigned committee members, but the Oklahoma House's second-in-command Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, was called into the room so he could cast the tie-breaking vote.
The lawmakers voting against Jenkins' bill were Reps. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City; Clay Staires, R-Skiatook; and Denise Crosswhite Hader, R-Piedmont.
During the committee meeting this week, Dollens said that asking about a person's disability or religion is intrusive, questioning why the government needs to know this information just to vote early or by mail.
More: Oklahoma's election system '100% accurate,' says chief election official
"The idea behind this bill is to strengthen the integrity of our voting system, and when a person is required to list a reason, it gives them pause to think about what they're doing and why they're doing it," replied Jenkins, a Republican from Coyle. "This is simply another measure to strengthen the integrity of our absentee ballot voting, instead of just having no-excuse absentee ballots."
Jenkins also cited President Donald Trump's apparent desire to allow only a single day for American citizens to cast a ballot.
In a reply to Staires' question about whether the bill is meant to discourage absentee voting, Jenkins said voting is a serious situation that people need to take seriously.
"Voting is not necessarily something that should just be a convenience," Jenkins said.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HB 1515 would require voters give reason to vote by mail, early
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Steel Contacts Media Corporate Communications+1 (412) 433 1300 / media@ Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer KatcherKelly Sullivan and Ed Trissel / +1 (212) 355 4449Investors Emily Chieng / +1 (412) 618 9554 / ecchieng@ Nippon Steel Contacts Media For inquiries, Investors ir@ Yuichiro Kaneko / +81-80-9022-6867 / Yohei Kato / +81-80-2131-0188 / General Inquiries (U.S.) Nippon Steel North America, Inc. / +1 (713) 654 7111U.S. Media Contacts NSCMedia@ Robert Mead / +1 (917) 327 9828 / Tucker Elcock / +1 (917) 208 4652 / Jack Coster / +1 (207) 756 4586 / Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
