2022-01-18                     House Journal                      Page 1672
HB 286                                                                                                                        
HOUSE BILL NO. 286 by the House Rules Committee by request of                                                                   
the Governor, entitled:                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to elections, voter registration, ballots, and a                                                          
     system of tracking and accounting for ballots; establishing an                                                             
     election offense hotline; relating to election fraud, election                                                             
     interference, and election official misconduct; requiring signature                                                        
     verification, notice, and the opportunity to cure; and providing for                                                       
     an effective date."                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
was read the first time and referred to the State Affairs and Finance                                                           
Committees.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
The following fiscal note(s) apply:                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1.  Fiscal, Office of the Governor                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
The Governor's transmittal letter dated January 17 follows:                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
"Dear Speaker Stutes:                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Under the authority of Article III, Section 18, of the Alaska                                                                   
Constitution, I am transmitting a bill relating to elections. This bill will                                                    
improve voter rolls, secure absentee and in-person voting, and increase                                                         
the identification and investigation of election crimes. By ensuring                                                            
election integrity, this bill will give all Alaskans confidence in the                                                          
election process, including election outcomes.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
This bill will improve voter rolls by requiring that Permanent Fund                                                             
Dividend applicants request voter registration in order to be registered                                                        
and directing the Division of Elections to update its voter list                                                                
maintenance practices, audit the voter list every other year, and issue                                                         
reports to the Legislature.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
The bill will provide more secure absentee voting practices by                                                                  
requiring signature matching, notice, and cure for all absentee ballots,                                                        
prohibiting the Division from sending unrequested absentee ballots,                                                             
outlawing ballot harvesting, allowing voters to request absentee ballots                                                        
in four year increments, and require the provision of prepaid envelopes                                                         
with all absentee ballots.                                                                                                      

2022-01-18                     House Journal                      Page 1673
The bill will secure in-person voting by prohibiting voters from                                                                
providing alternate forms of identification and preventing those                                                                
providing assistance at the polls from influencing voters. The bill will                                                        
further define unlawful interference with elections, election fraud, and                                                        
election official misconduct, create a toll-free number to report these                                                         
and other election crimes, and require that police officers receive                                                             
training in detecting and investigating election crimes.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
The bill will further ensure election integrity by allowing additional                                                          
hand counts, prohibiting private funding for elections, requiring the                                                           
centralized destruction of election materials, and instituting routine                                                          
forensic examinations and strict chain-of-custody protocols for voting                                                          
machines.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
In order to establish a more trustworthy election system, I urge your                                                           
prompt and favorable action on this measure.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Sincerely,                                                                                                                      
/s/                                                                                                                             
Mike Dunleavy                                                                                                                   
Governor"