State Senate Approves Electronic Ballots For Deployed Military

Tennesseans serving overseas in the military will be able to vote more easily under a proposed law passed Monday by the state Senate.

Tre Hargett, the secretary of state, says the new system will save having to send ballots by regular mail, which can take a while to get into combat areas or to deployed ships.

“We will be able to submit their ballots to them electronically, so they can get them faster, so they can return them faster.”

Fast-tracking ballots to far-flung soldiers and sailors is a new requirement by the federal government, so the changes will be taking place nationwide.

After the soldier-voter fills out his ballot and signs it, it will have to be returned by old-fashioned air or surface mail.

UPDATE: The House version of the bill was approved in a committee Tuesday [February 23, 2009], moving the measure one step closer to final passage.

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The bill is SB 2681 Ketron/HB 2799 McCormick.

The bill has been amended since it was first introduced. Here is the current version.

Hargett says the new, simpler way of sending out ballots won’t jeopardize the security of the ballot.

“We’ll be checking that against the rolls… to make they are who they say they are. And there’s going to methods in place where, we have to set up rules so we can verify signatures, and so that we can cross-match those against voter registration cards, and be able to make sure people are who they say they are.”

Hargett oversees the state Elections Coordinator’s staff, which helps the county voter registration offices meet the requirements of new election laws.