Group seeks absentee ballot initiative for 2012

Idaho Press Tribune: A group plans to begin collecting signatures to put a proposition on the 2012 ballot that would allow permanent absentee voting by mail in Idaho. Idaho Vote by Mail filed an initiative petition with the Secretary of State this week, the organization announced Thursday. "Currently in Idaho if you want to vote by absentee ballot you have to request a ballot each election," Larry Grant, a member of the board of directors of Idaho Vote by Mail, said in a news release. "The purpose of the initiative is to allow folks the option of automatically getting an absentee ballot without having to ask for it every time."
The group filed the petition with the Idaho Secretary of State's Office Monday, and could begin collecting signatures in the coming weeks. Grant, a one-time Democratic congressional candidate, said the group opted for the 2012 target because it must collect 52,000 signatures, which could prove difficult before the April 30, 2010, deadline for a 2010 vote. In 2007, all 44 of Idaho's county clerks sponsored and supported a bill in the Idaho Legislature to provide for voting by mail in all elections, a system that is successfully used in Oregon. Legislative leaders expressed concern, however, and the bill was tabled and the issue has not been addressed by the Legislature since. Some legislators feared the move could make fraud more prevalent. "I guess if they get it passed, that's OK," Speaker of the House Lawrence Denney, R-Midvale, said Thursday. Denney opposed the 2007 legislation.

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