A local legislator’s bill that would ensure the votes of dead people count in the Indiana General Assembly passed Monday. State Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, introduced Senate Bill 155, which would require that an absentee ballot completed by a voter who subsequently dies before Election Day to be counted as it would be had the voter not died. The bill passed by a 9-0 vote Monday in the Senate Elections Committee, of which Walker is chairman. It now moves to the Senate floor for further consideration. The need for the bill is twofold, Walker said. First, current regulations regarding early ballots of deceased voters are too burdensome. Secondly, it’s important for families to know that the wishes of the deceased family member regarding their vote are honored.
County clerks and their staffs are required by law to cross-check absentee ballots against information about residents who have died and to invalidate the votes of those who are deceased through an Election Board process, said Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps, who said he supports the bill.
“It is a lot of work,” Phelps said of the checking process, adding that cases of absentee voters who die before Election Day are rare.
Full Article: Dead-voter bill passes in Senate Elections Committee.