DENVER — Soldiers and sailors, Marines and missionaries, Peace Corps volunteers and airmen would all be able to vote by e-mail under a proposal debated in the Legislature on Friday.
The measure originally offered e-voting to members of the military in a pilot project, but Senate Democrats pushed to add Peace Corps volunteers, and that prompted Republicans to argue for missionaries as well.
"Think of the message we're sending: Serve your country, we'll help you vote. Serve your church, you're on your own," said Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, who served two years as a Mormon missionary in Argentina.
Currently, county clerks are allowed to fax absentee ballots to any voter living overseas. Senate Bill 62, which got initial backing from the Senate Friday, would also allow them to return their ballots by fax and would set up a test of e-mail voting.
Sen. Sue Windells, D-Arvada, a former Peace Corps worker, argued for including the Peace Corps because its volunteers, like military members, often work in remote locations and may be transferred, making it difficult for them to vote absentee.
Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, said her son got an absentee ballot in the mail a month after an election while in the Peace Corps.
After Mitchell argued for including missionaries, Steamboat Springs Republican Jack Taylor said the secretary of state wanted to limit the program to the military.
Fellow Republican Steve Johnson responded that the program shouldn't have been opened up to the Peace Corps, either.
Democrats Paula Sandoval, of Denver, and Brandon Shaffer, of Longmont, joined with Republicans to add missionaries to the program.
The Senate must vote on the bill again before sending it to the House, where further changes could be made.