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HB 327/LM (BR 478) - A. Arnold
AN ACT relating to elections, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergency.
Amend KRS 116.045 to provide that registrations include the party affiliation of the voter, including political organizations or new political groups, provide for entering of existing political affiliation on existing registrations, and provide for registration and tracking of political organizations and new political groups; amend KRS 116.0452 to provide that if the postmark of a registration by mail is illegible or missing, the application must be received within 5 working days after the registration books are closed; amend KRS 116.046 to provide for programs of civic education through the State Board of Education, and provide for advisory board on civic education; amend KRS 116.112 to provide that the State Board of Elections shall send notices of change of address to voters, and provide that county board of elections may request the State Board of Elections to send address confirmation notices; amend KRS 116.113 to allow information on deaths other than from the Cabinet for Health Services to be used to remove a person from the voter rolls; amend KRS 116.155 to provide for listing of political affiliation on voter registration forms; create a new section of KRS Chapter 117 to provide definition of the "Kentucky statewide election night tally system" and provide that the county board of elections shall transmit the tally totals to the statewide election night tally system immediately upon completion of the tally, require the county boards of elections to stay in session until the transmission is accomplished, and provide for means of acknowledging that the transmission has been received; create a new section of KRS Chapter 117 to provide that a county board of elections shall report to the State Board of Elections if 5% of a county's registered voters request absentee ballots or if there have been complaints regarding the conduct of absentee balloting in the county, and provide that the State Board of Elections shall notify the State Police and the Attorney General and they shall investigate for suspected absentee ballot fraud; amend KRS 117.045 to provide increase in election officers' pay from sixty dollars to one hundred dollars per election and require State Board of Elections to provide a precinct election officers' guide to each county board of elections, and require the county board to distribute the guide to each precinct; amend KRS 117.055 to provide that the county board of elections shall submit a written report to the State Board of Elections at least 60 days prior to the candidate filing deadline in KRS 118.165(1) on each election precinct that exceeded 700 votes cast in the last regular election, and provide that the State Board of Elections shall not remit to a county the state share of election expenses if the county does not divide or make other accommodations approved by the State Board of Elections for precincts exceeding 700 votes cast in the last general election; amend KRS 117.077 to provide that the application form for an absentee ballot may be requested by and delivered by the voter or spouse, parents, or children of the voter, and may be requested by and delivered by the voter's designee if the voter has no immediate family; amend KRS 117.085 to exempt absentee ballot requests and applications from open records until the completed absentee ballot is returned to the county clerk, allow absentee ballots to be mailed to residents of Kentucky who are members of the armed forces, dependents of members of the armed forces, overseas voters, and persons who are prevented from casting absentee ballots in person in the county clerks' office and will be absent from the county on all days that absentee balloting is conducted in the county clerk's office because of their employment, and who reside in the county in which they are registered, provide that mail-in absentee ballots may be cast by voters who change their place of residence to a different state while the registration books are closed in the new state of residence before an election of electors for President and Vice President, who shall be permitted to cast an absentee ballot for electors of President and Vice President only, provide that residents of Kentucky who are members of the armed forces, dependents of members of the armed forces, overseas voters, students, and voters who change their place of residence to a different state while the registration books are closed in the new state of residence before an election of electors for President and Vice President, who shall be permitted to cast an absentee ballot for electors of President and Vice President only, may apply to cast mail-in absentee ballots, provide that any deputy clerk, any staff member of the county board of elections, and any staff member of the State Board of Elections may vote early in the clerk's office, provide that the form for an absentee ballot shall have a space for 2 witnesses if the voter signs his or her name with the use of a mark instead of a full signature; amend KRS 117.0851 to require the State Board of Elections to promulgate administrative regulations for determining voter intent which shall apply uniformly to all absentee paper ballots cast, and provide that the vote shall be counted if the intention of the voter may be effectuated with reasonable certainty and shall not be rejected for a technical error; amend KRS 117.086 to provide that any voter who is a member of the armed forces, dependent of members of the armed forces, overseas voter, student, and voter who changes the place of residence to a different state while the registration books are closed in the new state of residence before an election of electors for President and Vice President, who shall be permitted to cast an absentee ballot for electors of President and Vice President only, and any voter who shall be absent on election day, any member of a county board of elections, any precinct officer appointed to serve in a precinct other than that in which he or she is registered, any deputy clerk, and any staff member of the county board of elections or State Board of Elections, may vote by absentee ballot on a machine in the county clerk's office, provide for reporting by the county board of elections to the State Board of Elections as to the number of rejected absentee ballots; amend KRS 117.087 to provide that the county board of elections and county clerk shall not make public the absentee ballot results determined as provided until 6 p.m. prevailing time, and a willful violation shall constitute a violation of KRS 119.245; amend KRS 117.105 to provide that the fiscal court of any county that utilized lever voting machines in any precinct for the 2000 general election shall replace those lever machines with electronic voting systems prior to the 2002 primary election, and fiscal courts may use funds provided by General Assembly appropriation, state or federal grants, or other funding for the transition, and provide for adequate time for transition, provide for quarterly reporting to the State Board of Elections and the Legislative Research Commission on implementation; amend KRS 117.145 to require all ballots and ballot labels to conform to uniform statewide standards promulgated by the State Board of Elections in administrative regulations; amend KRS 117.187 to provide that the State Board of Elections training for election officers shall include a video and training exercise; amend KRS 117.275 to remove references to lever machines, and provide for administrative regulations to set a uniform statewide standard for determining voter intent on supplemental paper ballots or any voting system that utilizes paper or scanned material in its operation; amend KRS 117.355 to establish reporting requirements and provide that failure of the county board of elections to furnish the reports shall result in the withholding of the state share of election expenses; amend KRS 117.305 to provide for a recanvass on a public question, which may only be conducted if the difference in votes is less than 1/2 of 1% of the votes cast on the question, and allow the county board of elections to change the result of the election upon the result of the recanvass; amend KRS 117.345 to increase state reimbursement for election expenses from $255 per precinct to $350 per precinct, and provide that no payments shall be made to counties using lever machines after 2001; amend KRS 117.375 to delete references to voting punch systems and lever machines; amend KRS 117.383 to require the State Board of Elections to provide for uniform ballot and ballot label design standards through administrative regulations, and delete provision for manual recount of 3 to 5% of randomly selected precincts; amend KRS 118.015 to delete references to voting punch systems and lever machines and include new definition of political organization and new political group; amend KRS 118.025 to include reference to KRS 120.017 recount provision; amend KRS 118A.010 to delete references to voting punch systems and lever machines; amend KRS 119.005 to delete references to voting punch systems and lever machines; amend KRS 120.005 to delete references to voting punch systems and lever machines, and provide definition of contest; amend KRS 120.015 to provide grounds for contest, including fraud, intimidation, bribery, or violence, illegally cast votes, voter intent that was not properly determined by the county board of elections requiring judicial determination, or gross negligence as to amount to constructive fraud; amend KRS 120.055 to clarify contest provisions for primaries and allow for recount of Congressional primaries and presidential preference primaries, provide for bond, provide that State Board of Elections or county board of elections shall be made a defendant, delete and recount provisions; amend KRS 120.065 to provide for findings of fact and conclusions of law in contest of primary election, and provide for remedies, and assessment of costs; amend KRS 120.155 to include electors of President and Vice President in provision for contest of general election, provide for accelerated times for contest provisions for electors of President and Vice President, delete recount provisions, provide for bond; amend KRS 120.165 to provide for conduct of contest action and acceleration of contest action for electors of President and Vice President, provide for determination without a jury, provide for findings of fact and conclusions of law, and remedies, and provide for assessment of costs; amend KRS 120.175 to provide that contest action for electors of President and Vice President may be appealed directly to the Supreme Court of Kentucky, instead of the Court of Appeals, provide for expedited review of proceeding; amend KRS 120.195 to require that, in contest actions for Governor and Lieutenant Governor and General Assembly, any candidate receiving 25% of the votes cast for the successful candidate or slate may file application to contest the election; amend KRS 120.205 to change references to slate of candidates; amend KRS 120.250 to delete references to recount and provide that court shall pass on disputes involving ballots; amend KRS 120.270 to delete references to recount; amend KRS 120.280 to delete references to recount; amend KRS 242.120 to provide that only voter voting on the question may file action for contest of local option election; amend KRS 121.180 to provide for mandatory electronic filing, beginning January 1, 2002, by statewide candidates, slates, and General Assembly candidates receiving contributions over $100,000 and provide for daily electronic reporting by those candidates in the 2 weeks prior to their election, and provide for posting of reports on the Registry website; amend various sections to conform; repeal KRS 120.095, 120.185, 120.260, 120.290; provide for appropriations to the State Board of Elections of $100,000 for voter list maintenance in 2000-2001, $250,000 for statewide tally system in 2000-2001, $954,000 for upgrades from lever to electronic voting machines in 2000-2001, and additional $168,000 for the state share of voting expenses in 2001-2002; provide for study by LRC of additional voting recommendations for submission to the 2002 General Assembly; EMERGENCY.
HB 327 - AMENDMENTS
HCS/LM - Amend KRS 116.045 to provide that registrations include the party affiliation of the voter with a political party, political organization, or political group, or independent status, and provide for regulations for tracking of voters identifying with political organizations and political groups, and voters of independent status; amend KRS 116.0452 to provide that if the postmark of a registration by mail is illegible or missing, that the application must be received within 5 working days after the registration books are closed; amend KRS 116.046 to provide for programs of civic education through the State Board of Education, provide for advisory board on civic education; amend KRS 116.112 to provide that the State Board of Elections shall send notices of change of address to voters, provide that county board of elections may request the State Board of Elections to send address confirmation notices; amend KRS 116.113 to allow information on deaths from reliable sources other than from the Cabinet for Health Services to be used to remove a person from the voter rolls; amend KRS 116.155 to provide for listing of membership in a political party, political organization, or political group, or independent status on voter registration forms; create a new section of KRS Chapter 117 to provide definition of the "Kentucky statewide election night tally system" and provide that the county board of elections shall transmit the tally totals to the statewide election night tally system immediately upon completion of the tally, provide that the county boards of elections shall stay in session until the transmission is accomplished; create a new section of KRS Chapter 117 to provide that a county board of elections shall report to the State Board of Elections if 5% of a county's registered voters request absentee ballots, provide that the State Board of Elections may notify the State Police and the Attorney General and they may investigate for suspected absentee ballot fraud and notify the State Board of Elections of the results of an investigation if one is initiated; amend KRS 117.055 to provide that the county board of elections shall submit a written report to the State Board of Elections at least 60 days prior to the candidate filing deadline in KRS 118.165(1) on each election precinct that exceeded 700 votes cast in the last regular election, provide that the State Board of Elections shall not remit to a county the state share of election expenses if the county does not divide or make other accommodations approved by the State Board of Elections for precincts exceeding 700 votes cast in the last general election; amend KRS 117.077 to provide that the application form for an absentee ballot may be requested by and delivered by the voter or spouse, parents, or children of the voter, and may be requested by and delivered by the voter's designee if the voter has no immediate family; amend KRS 117.085 to provide that the absentee ballot application may be requested by the voter, spouse, parents, or children of the voter, provide that absentee ballots may be mailed to residents of Kentucky who are members of the armed forces, dependents of members of the armed forces, overseas voters, and persons who are prevented from casting absentee ballots in person in the county clerks office and will be absent from the county on all days that absentee balloting is conducted in the county clerk's office because of their employment, who reside in the county in which they are registered, provide that mail-in absentee ballots may be cast by voters who change their place of residence to a different state while the registration books are closed in the new state of residence before an election of electors for President and Vice President, who shall be permitted to cast an absentee ballot for electors of President and Vice President only, provide that residents of Kentucky who are members of the armed forces, dependents of members of the armed forces, overseas voters, students, and voters who change their place of residence to a different state while the registration books are closed in the new state of residence before an election of electors for President and Vice President, who shall be permitted to cast an absentee ballot for electors of President and Vice President only, may apply to vote absentee on a voting machine in the clerk's office, provide that any deputy clerk, any staff member of the county board of elections, and any staff member of the State Board of Elections may vote early in the clerk's office, provide that the form for an absentee ballot shall have a space for 2 witnesses if the voter signs his name with the use of a mark instead of a full signature; amend KRS 117.086 to provide that any voter who is a member of the armed forces, dependent of members of the armed forces, overseas voter, student, and voter who change the place of residence to a different state while the registration books are closed in the new state of residence before an election of electors for President and Vice President, who shall be permitted to cast an absentee ballot for electors of President and Vice President only, and any voter who shall be absent on election day, any member of a county board of elections, any precinct officer appointed to serve in a precinct other than that in which he is registered, any alternate precinct officer, any deputy clerk, any staff member of the county board of elections or State Board of Elections, may vote by absentee ballot on a machine in the county clerk's office, provide for reporting by the county board of elections to the State Board of Elections as to the number of rejected absentee ballots; amend KRS 117.087 to provide that the county board of elections and county clerk shall not make public the absentee ballot results determined as provided until 6 p.m. prevailing time; amend KRS 117.105 to provide that the fiscal court of any county that utilized lever voting machines in any precinct for the 2000 general election shall replace those lever machines with electronic voting systems as adequate funding becomes available, and fiscal courts may use funds provided by General Assembly appropriation, state or federal grants, or other funding for the transition, and provide for adequate time for transition; amend KRS 117.145 to provide that all ballots and ballot labels shall conform to uniform statewide standards promulgated by the State Board of Elections in administrative regulations; amend KRS 117.355 to provide reporting requirements and provide that failure of the county board of elections to provide the reports shall result in the withholding of the state share of election expenses; amend KRS 117.375 to delete references to voting punch systems; amend KRS 117.383 to provide that the State Board of Elections shall provide for uniform ballot and ballot label design standards through administrative regulations; amend KRS 118.015 to include definitions of "political organization" and "political group" and delete references to voting punch systems; amend 118A.010, 119.005, and 120.005 to delete references to voting punch systems; make conforming amendments; repeal KRS 118.551; provide for study by LRC of additional voting recommendations for submission to the 2002 General Assembly.
HCA (1/Title, A. Arnold) - Make title amendment.
HFA (1, S. Brinkman) - Amend to provide that when a government employee removes any political signs from a public right-of-way within 30 or fewer days of an election, the employee shall remove all political signs in that right-of-way.
HFA (2, K. Upchurch) - Prohibit vote hauling.
HFA (3, J. Hoover) - Amend to provide that State Board of Elections shall not remit expenses of an election for any precinct containing less than 350 registered voters unless the county has received prior approval from the State Board of Elections.
HFA (4, J. Hoover) - Amend to provide that the State Police and the Attorney General shall, rather than may, investigate suspected absentee ballot fraud prior to election day if feasible.
HFA (5, J. Hoover) - Amend to provide that the State Board of Elections shall, rather than may, notify the State Police and Attorney General's office of any reports that 5% or more of the county eligible voters have requested absentee ballots, and provide that the State Board of Elections shall, rather than, may request an investigation.
HFA (6, J. Hoover) - Amend to change filing deadline to fourth Tuesday in March; change primary to first Tuesday after the third Monday in June, make conforming amendments.
Feb 15-introduced in House; to Elections, Const. Amendments & Intergovernmental Affairs (H); posting waived
Feb 16-reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar
Feb 19-2nd reading, to Rules; recommitted to Elections, Const. Amendments & Intergovernmental Affairs (H); posting waived; posted in committee
Feb 28-reported favorably, to Rules with Committee Substitute, committee amendment (1-title) ; posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 1, 2001
Mar 1-floor amendments (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) and (6) filed to Committee Substitute
Mar 5-recommitted to Appropriations and Revenue (H)
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