After spending much of the legislative session working on a failed plan to address state employee and teacher pensions, the House Committee on Government Operations is finally taking up legislation that would make universal mail-in voting permanent in Vermont.
On Wednesday, the panel took a gander for the first time at S.15, which the Senate passed March 18.
The bill would require local officials to mail ballots to all registered voters in the weeks leading up to future November elections. The push for the legislation came after state officials moved to automatically send voters ballots last fall — to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 at the polls.
That emergency election protocol change led to historically high voter turnout.
Several committee members said Wednesday they would like to learn more about the proposal.
Rep. Peter Anthony, D-Barre City, said he would like to check on whether local U.S. Postal Service workers could handle an increase in mail around election time.
Rep. Mark Higley, R-Lowell, expressed a desire to add anti-voter-fraud measures to the bill. He said he would support a signature verification system.
Rep. Samantha Lefebvre, R-Orange, raised a different concern, indicating she wanted to make sure Vermonters with disabilities could take advantage of the expanded voting system.
“Regardless of how I feel about (the legislation), I want to make sure that if it does become law that it’s accessible for everyone,” she said.
Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas, D-Bradford, who chairs the committee, told her colleagues that the plan is to dig into the details of the proposal Thursday and Friday.
“We’ve got a sense of where we want to do a little more investigating and get some more information,” she said Wednesday.
However, while Copeland Hanzas left it open for her committee to take its time and interrogate S.15, she has set a deadline. After the hearing concluded, she told VTDigger that she intends to get the legislation to the House floor early next week.
“Plan to get it out of committee within the next three days,” she said.
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