Military voting bill out of committee

The first legislative committee to take a look at the latest military voting bill in Alabama reported it out favorably this morning.

The bill, HB711, would establish five methods of requesting a ballot -- mail, e-mail, fax, secure transmission and commercial carrier. To return a completed ballot, military and overseas voters could use all of those methods but e-mail if the bill is passed.

Secretary of State Beth Chapman has been championing this bill for the last year and chairs the Military and Overseas Voting Task Force.

At the committee meeting, Rep. Jack Page asked about adding college students to the bill, but Chapman countered saying they already have enough time to complete the absentee voting process, but she would look at that in the future. Her first priority is the Alabama military members currently deployed and the 1,600 that are preparing to deploy in the coming months, she said.

Rep. James Gordon also asked about college students and suggested an amendment to add them to the bill, but later withdrew that motion. But, he said he would work on an amendment relating to college students and bring it up again when the bill reached the House floor.