ATLANTA -- The Senate on Friday unanimously approved legislation that would increase the penalty for committing voting fraud through absentee ballots.

Senate Bill 40, which moves to the House, would upgrade the severity of the crime to a felony from its current misdemeanor status. If a defendant was found guilty of forging absentee ballots, he or she could be sent to prison for one to 10 years and pay a fine of up to $100,000, under the measure.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Cecil Staton, R-Macon, acknowledged that absentee-ballot fraud is rarely prosecuted in Georgia, but he said upping the punishment would send a signal that the state is taking the crime more seriously.

Democrats who rallied against voter photo identification measures during previous sessions often criticized Republicans supporting the change, including Staton, saying that they were ignoring the potential for absentee ballot fraud in favor of making it more difficult to vote at the polls.

The voter ID law has been blocked by courts. Staton said earlier in the session that he would propose a constitutional amendment to revisit the voter identification issue, but he has yet to act.

He said Friday that he plans to introduce another bill soon dealing with absentee ballot fraud.

Reach Vicky Eckenrode at (678) 977-4601 or vicky.eckenrode@morris.com.