A bill updating voter registration residency requirements advances out of the House State Affairs Committee.
It requires residents to be living in the state for 30 consecutive days before submitting a voter registration form.
Thomas Deadrick is the Deputy Secretary of State. He said his office opposed the bill specifically due to the word “consecutive.”
“There’s just so many scenarios out there where a person is still trying to be and doing everything to be a resident of this state and they’re taken out of the state for whatever reason. And sometimes the reasons aren’t even really their own reasons as to why they want to leave," Deadrick said. "It may be because of vacation, a short time work over in another state. Or as one example I like to give is, what if you have a relative who lives in Omaha or Phoenix, and they die on you, and you want to go to the funeral? And you just blew your 30-consecutive."
Proponents countered, saying the bill takes into account the intent of a person to be in the state for 30 consecutive days.
They said that scenario, a person could go to the county auditor and still be able to vote in an election in unforeseen circumstances like funerals.
HB 1066 passes committee 8-2 and now heads to the floor of the House of Representatives.
