The final hours of the legislature: Race, religion and voting to the fore
April 26, 202111:21 am
Sen. Kim Hammer (@ARGOP) is arguing some counties can’t keep up with demand for Early Voting due to poor internet access & strain on poll workers.
Idea: (1) fund and train poll workers (2) fund voting equipment (3) prioritize elections and our democracy #ARvote#SB485pic.twitter.com/gXHGUsuCsU
There was too much time left in the legislative session, which is to end Tuesday. Plenty of time for more bad stuff this morning.
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But surprise. A House committee narrowly defeated a vote suppression bill. Also this morning, a committee gave a favorable review to a piece of legislation
Lawmakers head back to Little Rock for final week; veto override, state budget in agenda A possible override of a veto on a 2nd Amendment-related bill and the stateâs budget will be major issues lawmakers will tackle as they head back to the Capitol Monday. (Source: ABC/NBC) By Region 8 Newsdesk | April 25, 2021 at 2:32 PM CDT - Updated April 25 at 2:42 PM
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT) - A possible override of a veto on a 2nd Amendment-related bill and the stateâs budget will be major issues lawmakers will tackle as they head back to the Capitol Monday.
An attempt to override a veto of the Arkansas Sovereignty Act of 2021 is expected Monday after Gov. Asa Hutchinson vetoed the bill Friday.
But opponents said it would remove an opportunity to vote for people who can’t make it to the polls at other times.
The measure is among several voting law changes that have advanced in the Legislature this year. Gov. Asa Hutchinson last week signed a law prohibiting someone being within 100 feet of the primary exterior entrance of a polling site while voting is taking place unless they’re entering or leaving the building “for lawful purposes.”
The prohibition was in response to groups handing out food and water to people outside of polling sites.
Hutchinson earlier this year also approved a change to the state’s voter ID law that removed the ability for people without identification to cast a ballot if they sign a sworn statement.
Arkansas lawmakers consider cutting early voting by 1 day thv11.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thv11.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Is a Democrat allowed to pass legislation that helps people vote? No.
April 22, 20214:30 pm
The question was asked and answered in the negative today in the Senate on SB 781 by Sen. Clarke Tucker, a Little Rock Democrat.
It enjoyed bipartisan support. It incorporated many suggestions from Republican Sen. Kim Hammer, architect of most of the Republican vote agenda bills this session, as well as other Republicans who worked on the bill.
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Its key element is simple equity. In adding new impediments to absentee balloting this year, Republicans eliminated the ability to correct minor errors detected in checking returned absentee ballots, particularly an ability to cure a failure to include in the envelope the newly required photo ID.