All mail-in election bill fails in House

A bill that called for conducting all

elections in the state other than school elections by mail-in

ballot failed to pass on a third reading in the House on Jan.

28.

Efforts to enact vote-by-mail elections

have appeared in past legislative sessions, with both Republicans

and Democrats leading the efforts. House Bill 130, sponsored by

Rep. Pat Ingraham, R-Thompson Falls, had moved through the House

with some bipartisan cooperation until the third reading, which

failed by a 57-42 vote.

Rep. Carolyn Pease-Lopez, D-Billings, a

member of the Crow Indian tribe, accused another lawmaker of racism

during a public hearing. Turning to Rep. Derek Skees, R-Kalispell,

who represents the urban Whitefish House district, Pease-Lopez

said, “I felt so much hatred from your caucus.”

Continuing, Pease-Lopez said, “I feel

like if it was up to you, we would all be dead. We are going to

keep having babies and live and thrive no matter ho much you try to

oppress us.”

Pease-Lopez later apologized for her

comments and asked for “forgiveness.”

Several Indian legislators had

expressed concerns about an amendment brought by House Majority

Leader Tom McGilvray, R-Billlings, during the bill’s second reading

on Jan. 27. The amendment, which passed, removed an “outreach”

provision that would have required counties to notify residents of

reservations and universities of the mail-in ballot system.

The Indian legislators pointed out that

many residents on Indian reservations don’t have mailing addresses,

but after HB 130 failed, Skees told reporters that race had nothing

to do with his vote.

“Race has nothing to do with it,” Skees

said. “I have nothing to do with hatred. I love humanity.”

Skees, who voted against HB 130, told

the Pilot he and other Republicans conducted extensive online

research on the topic of mail-in elections.

Specific to HB 130, he said the cost of

the outreach provision would be borne by counties, and the outreach

provision was unfair because it gave special treatment to residents

of reservations and universities.

Skees also had proposed during the

bill’s second reading removing a provision that called for “24/7

drop boxes” for voters. He said the drop boxes created the

potential for fraud, but the provision was kept in the bill.