05/08/2002 03:14 PM Senate JUD

The committee took up SB 87.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                              
                 SB 87-SPECIAL ABSENTEE BALLOTS                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MS. SARA  BOARIO, staff to  Senator Georgiana Lincoln,  sponsor of                                                              
SB 87,  explained that  SB 87  will give  voters living  in remote                                                              
locations  the  opportunity  to  vote  using  the  60-day  special                                                              
advance absentee  ballot. In current statute, only  voters living,                                                              
working or  traveling outside  of the  United States are  eligible                                                              
for the  special ballot.  However, distance,  terrain and  natural                                                              
conditions have  prevented voters  in remote areas  from receiving                                                              
their by-mail  ballots  because the current  three-week window  of                                                              
opportunity has not provided enough  time for them to be received.                                                              
The Division of  Elections already distributes the  special 60-day                                                              
absentee  ballot so  there will  be no  additional cost.  Concerns                                                              
were expressed  in the  Senate State  Affairs Committee  about the                                                              
interpretation  of the  words "remote"  and  "reasonable" but  the                                                              
Division  of  Legal  Services  addressed  those  concerns  to  the                                                              
satisfaction of the committee.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR COWDERY asked if villages would be considered remote.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MS. BOARIO  said the Division  of Legal Services  recommended that                                                              
the  Division of  Elections' regulations  be reviewed  to see  how                                                              
they are  applied to determine  permanent absentee voters.  One of                                                              
the  criteria in  the regulations  the Division  uses to  identify                                                              
absentee voter is if the voter resides  in a remote area of Alaska                                                              
where  distance, terrain,  or other  natural  conditions deny  the                                                              
voter reasonable access to the polling place.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MS. GAIL FENUMIAI,  Division of Elections, affirmed that  SB 87 is                                                              
designed  for  people in  remote  locations  without access  to  a                                                              
polling  place   due  to  distance,  terrain,  or   other  natural                                                              
conditions. Mail service  may be sporadic in the  wintertime or no                                                              
mail service  may be available. If  they receive a ballot  60 days                                                              
before the  election, there  is a  better chance  they can  get it                                                              
back in time to be counted for the election.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  COWDERY  asked if  the  timeline  established  by law  on                                                              
deadlines for absentee voting will still hold.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS. FENUMIAI said that is correct.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
There  being no  further questions,  SENATOR COWDERY  moved SB  87                                                              
from committee with individual recommendations.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIRMAN  TAYLOR announced  that  without objection,  SB 87  moved                                                              
from committee.