A bill designed to save county governments half a million dollars or more is facing a time crunch in the state legislature. It would allow them to conduct mail-in only balloting. If it’s going to have any impact on how voters select the state’s next U.S. congressman, it must pass out of what one lawmaker is calling a kill committee. Senate Bill 305 is getting its first hearing in the House at the end of next week. But the bill’s sponsor is unhappy that that’s going to happen in the judiciary committee. “I think the bill was put into judiciary in order to kill it,” says Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls.
Fitzpatrick says lawmakers on the judiciary committee are often some of the strongest ideologically in their respective parties and tend to vote on party lines. Since Republicans hold a majority, he says they could kill his bill.
The GOP party chairman has encouraged his party to vote against it, saying it could help Democrats in the upcoming election. Fitzpatrick says, according to legislative rules, the bill should have been placed in a committee that deals more with changes to the state’s election process.
Full Article: Mail-in Voting Bill Sent To ‘Kill Committee’ | MTPR.