Legislature(2021 - 2022)
04/09/2022 10:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
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Audio | Topic |
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Start | |
SB161 | |
HB412 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ | TELECONFERENCED | ||
+ | SB 161 | TELECONFERENCED | |
*+ | HB 412 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 161-POLITICAL PARTY DEFINITION 2:07:12 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the first order of business would be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 161(JUD), "An Act relating to the definition of 'political party'; and providing for an effective date." 2:07:24 PM SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI, Alaska State Legislature, prime sponsor, introduced CSSB 161(JUD). He paraphrased the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read in its entirety as follows [original punctuation provided]: Senate Bill 161 simplifies the process for political parties gaining official recognition by recognizing any party with at least 5,000 registered voters. This bill would replace the current variable threshold with a standard that is simple and consistent. The 5,000 threshold would be adjusted for population changes after every 10 year census, and rounded to the nearest 500. Currently political parties gain or maintain official recognition by having registered voters equal to at least 3% of the total votes cast for governor, U.S. Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives in the last election depending on which office was on the ballot that year. This threshold can vary wildly from election to election and after the 2020 election it increased by 27% because of record voter turnout. With the passage of Ballot Measure 2, official party status will no longer be used to determine ballot access for candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, U.S. Congress, or Alaska State Legislature. The only offices for which officially recognized parties will have automatic ballot access are U.S. president and vice president. Parties with much fewer than 5,000 registered voter routinely secure ballot access by petition and SB 161 will save the Division of Elections the time and expense of reviewing petitions for parties that have already demonstrated a significant amount of support. Officially recognized parties have the right to purchase two pages in the Official Election Pamphlet, to nominate poll workers and election board members, and to have observers present at polling places and counting centers. In addition, there are different campaign finance limits and reporting requirements for recognized parties and unrecognized parties. SB 161 ensures that this status is determined by a simple, consistent, and easy to understand threshold. Thank you for your consideration. 2:09:56 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether the bill sponsor had received any feedback from the Division of Elections (DOE), Office of the Lieutenant Governor. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI indicated that the division had not commented on the proposed legislation. 2:10:48 PM REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked why the legislature wouldn't afford these benefits to groups of any size that wanted to participate as a recognized party. He questioned why the threshold was set at 5,000 registered voters. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said it was a policy call. He explained that 5,000 was requested by a constituent. He addressed the benefits of being a recognized party, including presidential ballot access; the right to purchase two pages in the official election pamphlet; the right to nominate poll workers and election board members; and the right to have observers present at polling places and counting centers. Additionally, campaign finance limits and reporting limits were different for recognized parties. For those reasons, he argued that establishing a threshold was necessary to avoid logistical problems, such as the size of the election pamphlet or a large number of poll workers or election board members. REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked how many political groups were competing to become an official party. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI deferred to Mr. Dunsmore. 2:13:10 PM DAVID DUNSMORE, Staff, Senator Bill Wielechowski, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Senator Wielechowski, prime sponsor of CSSB 161(JUD), estimated that the number of groups was between 8-12. 2:13:28 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked whether a sunset provision was considered to account for population growth. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI noted that a change was made in the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee to include an adjustment of the 5,000-voter threshold every 10 years to account for population growth or decline. 2:14:47 PM REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN suggested that registered voters was not an appropriate metric. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI pointed out that prior to Ballot Measure 2, political parties could attain status via registered voters or securing a 3 percent threshold in the "top of the ticket" election. After Ballot Measure 2, however, voters elected to make registered voters the only qualification for achieving recognized status. 2:17:23 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that CSSB 226(JUD) was held over.
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
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HB 412 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HSTA 4/9/2022 10:00:00 AM |
HB 412 |
HB 412 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HSTA 4/9/2022 10:00:00 AM |
HB 412 |
HB 412 Version B.PDF |
HSTA 4/9/2022 10:00:00 AM |
HB 412 |
SB 161 Version B.PDF |
HSTA 4/9/2022 10:00:00 AM |
SB 161 |
SB 161 Supporting Document - Research Parties on Presidential Ballots 1.24.2022.pdf |
HJUD 4/27/2022 1:00:00 PM HSTA 4/9/2022 10:00:00 AM |
SB 161 |
SB 161 Supporting Document - Research Graph 1.24.2022.pdf |
HJUD 4/27/2022 1:00:00 PM HSTA 4/9/2022 10:00:00 AM |
SB 161 |
SB 161 Hearing Request 03.28.22.pdf |
HSTA 4/9/2022 10:00:00 AM |
SB 161 |
SB 161 Fiscal Note OOG-DOE-2-12-22.PDF |
HSTA 4/9/2022 10:00:00 AM |
SB 161 |
SB 161 Sponsor Statement Version B.pdf |
HSTA 4/9/2022 10:00:00 AM |
SB 161 |
SB 161 Response to House State Affairs Questions.pdf |
HSTA 4/9/2022 10:00:00 AM |
SB 161 |