Legislature(2017 - 2018)GRUENBERG 120
03/21/2017 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB94 | |
| SB46 | |
| HB163 | |
| HB1 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 94 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 46 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 163 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 1 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 1-ELECTION REGISTRATION AND VOTING
4:56:29 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the final order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 1, "An Act relating to absentee voting,
voting, and voter registration; relating to early voting
locations at which persons may vote absentee ballots; and
providing for an effective date." [Before the committee,
adopted as a work draft on 3/16/17, was the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 1, Version 30-LS0070\O, Bullard, 3/14/17,
referred to as "Version O."]
4:57:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK stated that the proposed legislation was
designed to accomplish the following: provide for same day
voter registration; to allow for electronic signature on voter
registration documents; ensure that early voting locations are
the same and available for every election up until the next
redistricting; create an option for permanent absentee voting,
which is voting by mail; and change terminology for "absentee
in-person voting stations" to "early voting stations". He said
that parts of AS 15 needed to be updated to ensure that the
voting practices that are currently occurring are in statute.
He relayed that currently a person may early vote in-person
absentee within [15] days of an election, and on his/her ballot
is a voter registration form allowing him/her to vote early and
change his/her voter registration simultaneously. He added that
Version O would "extend that all the way down to same-day voter
registration."
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK paraphrased from the sectional analysis of
the committee substitute (CS) for HB 1, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided with bolded type indicating new
sections]:
Section 1: Removes language from AS 15.05.010 that
requires a qualified voter to register under AS 15.07
before an election.
Section 2: Permits a person registering or
reregistering as a voter to apply using an electronic
signature.
Section 3: instructing the director of the division to
determine the form of electronic signature to be used
when registering to vote.
Section 4: Allows a qualified voter registering on the
day of, or within 30 days of an election, to vote a
questioned ballot at that election.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK stated that there are only six locations at
which a person can early vote and have it count as early voting.
He added that there are 101 locations in the State of Alaska at
which a person can vote in-person absentee early within [15]
days of the election.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK continued to paraphrase from the sectional
analysis, which read as follows [original punctuation provided
with bolded type indicating new sections]:
Section 5: Amends AS 15.07.070(h) the procedure for
registration is amended to clarify the use of a
special needs ballot and clarifies that on the voter's
certificate on the ballot that registration includes a
voters choice to declare a political party, non-
partisan or undeclared.
NOTE: This is a practice the division of elections
already carries out, this is just updating the
statutes to reflect their current practice.
Section 6: stating that section 15.07.070 includes
special needs ballot which is defined under 15.20.072.
Special needs voting: A qualified voter with a
disability who, because of that disability, is unable
to go to a polling place to vote may vote a special
needs ballot.
Section 7: If a persons voter registration is
cancelled under 15.07.130 voter registration list
maintenance, and they re-register they shall vote a
questioned ballot.
Section 8: conforming language for same day voter
registration. This amends AS 15.07.090(c) voting
after change of name, reregistration to add language
that states if a person moved from a new precinct they
vote an questioned ballot.
Section 9: cleans up language about a voter who is not
found on the voter registrar to vote a questioned
ballot.
Section 10: definition expansion to include special
needs ballot.
Section 11: Conforms AS 15.07.130(e) to changes made
in section 18 of the bill.
5:02:00 PM
Section 12: Clarifies privileges of poll watchers in a
general election or special election related to ballot
propositions.
Section 13: adds a new section to AS 15.10.170
appointment and privileges of poll watchers to clarify
poll watchers may be designated by prescient party
chair, organized group, or candidate. This is the
language that was removed in section 12 and made a new
subsection. NOTE: this practice is currently being
done by the division of elections.
Section 14 - 17: relate to questioned ballot procedure
and adding a declaration that the voter must sign that
the information provided is accurate.
Section 18: Renames absentee voting stations "early
voting stations." Provides that a location designated
as an early voting station will remain an early voting
station for subsequent elections unless the location
is no longer available for use or the director of the
division of elections determines that the location is
no longer appropriate. Requires the director to make a
determination that a location is no longer appropriate
for use as an early voting station available to the
public in writing.
Section 19-22: Conforms AS 15.20.050 to changes made
in Section 18 related to early voting stations.
Section 23: allowing voter registration updates
through electronic absentee ballot and fax.
5:05:26 PM
Section 24: Requires an absentee ballot application to
include an option for a voter to choose to receive
absentee ballots by mail for future regularly
scheduled state elections. Provides conditions under
which the director may require a voter to reapply to
receive absentee ballots by mail.
Section 25: conforming changes for same day voter
registration.
Section 26: definition of electronic signature
Section 27: conforming to section 18 of the bill
related to early voting stations.
Section 28: conforming to same day voter registration.
Section 29: conforming to same day voter registration.
Note: AS 29.26.050(a)(3): voter qualifications, is
registered to vote in state elections at a resident
address within a municipality at least 30 days before
the municipal election at which the person seeks to
vote.
Section 30: Provides authority to the director of the
division of elections in uncodified law to adopt or
amend regulations as necessary to implement the
changes made by the Act.
Section 31: Provides an effective date for the bill's
provisions.
5:08:57 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the committee would recess
until 5:30 p.m.
5:36:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked for an explanation of the difference
between the process for counting an absentee ballot and that of
counting a questioned ballot, when a change in voter
registration is made at the same time.
5:38:47 PM
LAURI WILSON, Elections Supervisor, Division of Elections (DOE),
Office of the Lieutenant Governor, explained that questioned
ballots are voted at the precinct only on Election Day; absentee
in-person ballots can be voted 15 days before the election. She
added that there are other types of absentee ballots - by
facsimile ("fax"), by mail, and online. She stated that these
ballots go through the review process. She said that once the
voter has cast one of these ballots, DOE staff logs the ballot
and completes an initial review of the voter's record comparing
the information on the outside of the ballot envelope with the
information in the database. They then assign a count code -
full count, partial count, or reject. She said that the review
report and the ballot envelope together go through a second
review, which is performed by one of two independent boards:
the "questioned" board for the questioned ballots and the
"absentee" board for the absentee ballots.
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP asked for confirmation that questioned
ballots are voted on Election Day and absentee ballots are voted
15 days before the election.
MS. WILSON answered, "That is correct."
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP asked for the length of the early voting
period.
MS. WILSON responded that the early voting period is the 15 days
before the election.
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP asked if absentee and early voting are the
same.
MS. WILSON replied that absentee voting and early voting are two
separate processes.
5:41:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP asked for the proof of residency that is
required to demonstrate that the person registering to vote has
lived in the district for 30 days.
MS. WILSON answered that for the presidential election, Alaska
currently has same day registration. She stated that when the
voter applies for registration, DOE verifies all the voter's
identifiers using the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) database
and the Social Security Administration (SSA) database, both of
which are accessed through DMV. She said that currently DOE can
look up a voter's registration date in its database to determine
if the voter has been registered for 30 days. She said that for
someone newly registered, under Version O he/she would need to
submit a signed declaration attesting that he/she has been a
resident of the district for 30 days prior to the election. The
identifiers for that person then would be verified through the
DMV and SSA databases.
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP said that his concern is the potential for
voter fraud, not on the national level but on the local level.
He mentioned that he is considering introducing an amendment to
Version O that would require a person registering within 30 days
of an election to provide DOE with some proof of being a
resident of the district. The types of proof would be a
paycheck stub, a current Alaska driver's license, a utility
bill, or a bank statement with a current address.
5:45:07 PM
MS. WILSON said that some other states do require that type of
proof. She added that since Alaska does not require that, an
amendment would be needed for statute changes and subsequent
changes in DOE processes.
5:45:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK referred to Ms. Wilson's statement that an
in-person absentee ballot is considered differently [by DOE]
than early voting. He asked if she was referring to early
voting in the six locations at which a person can actually early
vote or to someone voting an in-person absentee ballot before
the election.
MS. WILSON responded that at the six early voting stations, DOE
offers what is referred to as "early voting" and also offers
absentee in-person voting. She explained that early voting, as
it is currently done, requires those stations to have "live"
access to the DOE voter registration database to confirm the
eligibility of the voter at the time he/she is voting. Election
workers check to ensure there are no changes in the voter
record, verify the voter's identification (ID), and issue a
voter certificate. The certificate is signed by the voter;
he/she is issued a ballot; and the ballot goes "live" into the
ballot box with no review.
MS. WILSON went on to say that if a voter wishing to early vote
has had a change in his/her record, he/she would have to fill
out the [questioned ballot] envelope at the absentee in-person
table to change his/her registration, and his/her vote would be
subject to the review process.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked for confirmation that at the 181 early
vote locations without live access verification, voters would
vote an in-person absentee ballot.
MS. WILSON answered, "That is correct."
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK also asked for confirmation that currently
someone could vote in-person absentee at one of the 181
locations and change or update his/her voter registration on the
ballot envelope.
MS. WILSON replied, "That is correct."
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked if DOE can verify a change in
residency before the ballot is counted or if DOE takes the
signed affidavit.
MS. WILSON responded that DOE takes the voter's signed
confirmation attesting to living at the resident address stated.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked for confirmation that there is no way
of verifying residence prior to the ballot being counted.
MS. WILSON answered that unless the voter's address matches the
address in the DMV database, without any additional proof, that
is correct.
5:50:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK mentioned that [concurrent] verification is
not currently possible for those voting same day or in-person,
if he/she makes registration changes. He suggested that same
day voting should be offered to someone voting a special needs
ballot, voting by fax, or voting at the 181 stations allowing
in-person absentee early voting within [15] days of the
election.
5:50:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP mentioned that often DMV records are not
current when a person moves frequently.
5:51:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP moved adopt Conceptual Amendment 1, which
read:
Page 3, line 6, following "election", add," a person
registering to vote within 30 days of the election
must show proof of Alaskan residency prior to
registering and sign an affidavit that they have
resided in the district for the last 30 days prior to
the election and shall exhibit to an election official
on form of verification, including one of the
following;
(1) prior voter registration with last four year
(2) pay stub proving Alaskan Employment
(3) current Alaska Driver's License
(4) utility bill receipts with current address
(5) bank statements with current address
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK objected for the purpose of discussion. He
said his only concern regarding the proposed amendment is that
it is clear that the verification process is not necessary to
change party affiliation.
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP responded, "That is my intent."
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if [CSHB 1, Version O] would allow
someone to change his/her party affiliation on the day of the
election.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK answered yes. He said it is currently
allowed with a questioned ballot and an in-person absentee
ballot.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX offered that in a primary election, one
can't change one's party registration on the day of the election
and have it count. She added that it must be done 30 days
prior.
5:53:57 PM
MS. WILSON said that Representative LeDoux is correct. She
responded that currently a voter can make any registration
changes on a questioned ballot form or an absentee in-person
[ballot] envelope; however, for the primary election, a party
affiliation change is not effective on the day of election under
current statute.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if under either Version O or
Conceptual Amendment 1 to Version O, someone could change one's
party affiliation on the day of the election and have it count,
to vote in that election.
MS. WILSON expressed her understanding that the intent of
Version O is to allow for same day registration, which would
include a change in party affiliation the same day and allow the
vote to be counted.
5:55:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP stated that Conceptual Amendment 1 would
have no effect on that situation. [Conceptual Amendment 1 was
treated as adopted.]
5:56:06 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 5:56 p.m.
5:56:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX moved to report CSHB 1, Version 30-
LS0070\O, Bullard, 3/14/17 out of committee, as amended, with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
There being no objection, CSHB 1(STA) was reported from the
House State Affairs Standing Committee.