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Josephs proposes amendment to Pennsylvania Constitution to guarantee military's right to vote by absentee ballot

HARRISBURG, July 3 – A bill authored by state Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Phila., that would guarantee the military the right to vote by absentee ballot and allow the legislature to permit more Pennsylvania residents to vote by absentee was voted out of the House State Government Committee today.

Josephs said that changing the existing law with H.B. 2692 would ensure that the voting rights of military people are secured in the state constitution.

"Elections are the business of the state and the counties," Josephs said. "The federal government's role is minimal, yet the only reason military personnel have the right to vote absentee is based on federal law. My legislation, among other things, puts that right in the Pennsylvania Constitution. The other important thing my bill does is allow the General Assembly more flexibility to decide which classes of citizens should be allowed to vote absentee. Right now that decision is made difficult because the constitution limits that right. I want to change that."

Currently, the state constitution does not specifically guarantee the right of the military to vote by absentee ballot. The constitution currently only allows people to vote by absentee ballot if they are away from their residential municipality on the day of the election due to illness or if it is a requirement of their job, if they're observing a religious holiday, or in the event that they are employed by the county and have election-day duties.

Josephs' bill also would authorize the legislature to provide for more expansive reasons to vote by absentee ballot. Twenty-six states have progressed to what is referred to as "no excuse" absentee ballots.

"Amending the constitution gives us the flexibility to declare that other types of people are allowed to vote by absentee ballot," said Josephs, who has begun exploring the vote-by-mail system that Oregon has implemented as a possibility for Pennsylvania.

The legislation, which now goes to the full House for consideration, must be passed in two consecutive legislative sessions before going to a public referendum, in order to amend the state constitution.

Josephs is chairwoman of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives' State Government Committee, which has jurisdiction over legislation related to elections and voting.

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