3 House bills target Utah voting system

Electronic voting machines will be the biggest change voters see in 2006, but it may not be the only change.

The House Government Operations Committee approved three bills that Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert said could create a different — and ideally more efficient — voting system statewide. The three bills would allow people to vote 14 days before Election Day; give county clerks the ability to create precincts with up to 2,000 people, instead of the currently allowed 1,000 people; and give overseas military personnel the chance to vote via e-mail.

"We're in a new era of technology," Herbert said as a way of introducing all three bills. With the changes, especially to precinct rules and early voting, "county clerks will be able to do more with their finite resources to meet their community's needs."