04/29/2003 01:46 PM House FIN

HOUSE BILL NO. 266                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act  relating to  elections, questioned  ballots and                                                                   
     questioned  voters,  voter   registration,  training  of                                                                   
     election officials,  preparation of election  materials,                                                                   
     voter   identification,    absentee   voting,   counting                                                                   
     ballots, and the primary  election; and providing for an                                                                   
     effective date."                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Harris MOVED  to ADOPT  Committee Substitute  (FIN)                                                                   
Work Draft 23-GH1133\S,  4/29/03.  There being  NO OBJECTION,                                                                   
the Work Draft was ADOPTED.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
LAURA  GLAISER,  DIRECTOR,  DIVISION  OF  ELECTIONS  provided                                                                   
information  about the  changes  contained  in the  Committee                                                                   
Substitute.   She explained that  the intent of the  bill was                                                                   
to  address  compliance  with  the  Help  American  Vote  Act                                                                   
(HAVA), signed  into law in October  of 2002.  The  law was a                                                                   
result  of  a bi-partisan  effort  in  Congress  intended  to                                                                   
improve   overall  administration   of  elections,   increase                                                                   
accessibility  to voters with  disabilities and  reduce voter                                                                   
fraud.  She  continued to read from the Sponsor  Statement as                                                                   
follows:                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Many  changes   required  under  HAVA  do   not  require                                                                   
     amending  Alaska  statute,  but HB  266  includes  those                                                                   
     necessary   to   meet   federal   mandates.      Changes                                                                   
     recommended in the bill before  you follow the intent of                                                                   
     the federal law and do not  place unnecessary burdens on                                                                   
     the  voter.    It  is  imperative   that  these  changes                                                                   
     mandated by  federal law  are passed by the  Legislature                                                                   
     this year.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     HB 266  also includes  changes the Division  recommends.                                                                   
     The  Division  supports   the  language  recommended  in                                                                   
     Senator  Lincoln's SB 24,  and it  had been included  in                                                                   
     this bill with her permission.   Other changes regarding                                                                   
     returning    identification/voter    cards   to    other                                                                   
     jurisdictions, reference  to a "master list", and adding                                                                   
     types of information  that can be provided  by the voter                                                                   
     when  registering   in  person  are  requested   by  the                                                                   
     Division in this bill.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Ms. Glaiser  stated that, although  not mandated to do  so by                                                                   
federal   law,   the  Division   had   recommended   grouping                                                                   
"undeclared" and "non-partisan"  voters into one group called                                                                   
"unaffiliated   voters".    She   stated  that   the  current                                                                   
Committee Substitute (Version  S) had removed those sections.                                                                   
She  also noted  that  in the  original  version, the  phrase                                                                   
"question ballot"  had been changed to  "provisional ballot".                                                                   
House State  Affairs had  recommended  reverting back  to the                                                                   
term "question  ballot".  In  addition, federal law  asks the                                                                   
Division to provide a free access  system, whether a web site                                                                   
or toll  free number, by  which a voter  may check to  see if                                                                   
their  question  ballot  had been  counted.    Currently  the                                                                   
practice  is   to  send  a   letter  to  those   voters,  and                                                                   
Representative  Gruenberg   requested  that  the   letter  be                                                                   
included along with the free access  system.  She stated that                                                                   
both methods are included in the Committee Substitute.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Representative Croft  asked why combining  "non-partisan" and                                                                   
"undeclared"  into "nonaffiliated"  was not  included in  the                                                                   
bill.     Ms.  Glaiser  responded   that  it  was   a  policy                                                                   
recommendation,  but there  was  no federal  mandate.     She                                                                   
referred  to   the  Sectional  Analysis  of   the  bill  that                                                                   
indicated   which  measures  were   housekeeping  and   which                                                                   
responded to federal compliance.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Croft asked about  the language contained  in                                                                   
Section 17  of Representative  Lincoln's bill  (SB 24).   Ms.                                                                   
Glaiser responded  that SB 24,  as well as the  current bill,                                                                   
requested   that  special   absentee  ballots   be  sent   to                                                                   
individuals who, at the time of  the election, were living in                                                                   
a remote area  of the state where distance,  terrain or other                                                                   
natural conditions  denied the  voter reasonable access  to a                                                                   
poling place.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair  Meyer  asked what  must  be  done to  have  local                                                                   
elections  coincide with  statewide elections.   Ms.  Glaiser                                                                   
noted that a statutory change would be required.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Representative Whitaker  asked for clarification  regarding a                                                                   
resolution  from the League  of Women  Voters and asked  what                                                                   
relevance it  had to  the bill.   Ms. Glaiser responded  that                                                                   
this  resolution  bore  no  relevance  to this  bill,  as  it                                                                   
relates to APOC.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Foster MOVED to  report Committee  Substitute                                                                   
HB266 (FIN)  out of  Committee with  the accompanying  fiscal                                                                   
note.   There being NO OBJECTION it was so ordered.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CSHB  266 (FIN)  was REPORTED  out  of Committee  with a  "do                                                                   
pass" recommendation and two zero  fiscal notes:  #1 from the                                                                   
Office  of  the  Governor  and  #2  from  the  Department  of                                                                   
Administration.