Soldier-vote conferees locked
Washington (UP) –
House-Senate conferees resume discussions tomorrow on the soldier-vote bill with still no sign of a break in the long deadlock between advocates of state and federal ballots.
Senator Theodore F. Green (D-RI), a Senate conferee, indicated the status of the talks by saying that the nearest thing to an agreement yet came yesterday when conferees “came very close to voting to disagree.”
At tomorrow’s session, Rep. John E. Rankin (D-MS), ardent advocate of a state ballot, will offer a proposal to give the federal ballot only to soldiers from states with no absentee voting laws – New Mexico and Kentucky – provided their legislatures confirm they will accept it.
This would in effect kill the federal ballot plan “with kindness” and Senate conferees were not expected to accept it.