Legislature(1993 - 1994)
03/02/1994 09:05 AM Senate STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
CHAIRMAN LEMAN brings up SB 303 (UNIFORM VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEM) as the next order of business before the State Affairs Committee. The chairman calls Laura Glaiser of the Division of Elections to testify. Number 240 LAURA GLAISER, Office of the Lieutenant Governor states SB 303 came about after the president signed the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. While there was some thought that perhaps Alaska would be exempt, it is not. Ms. Glaiser and the Director of the Division of Elections met with representatives from the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission, and were assured that Alaska was not exempt. Even though the State of Alaska sends out voter registration applications with the permanent fund dividend applications, we were told that was not enough to exempt Alaska from the voter registration act. The Department of Justice and the Federal Elections Commission would not give the Division of Elections clear direction as to what they wanted from the division, but assured us that they would sue us if we did not comply. SB 303 was drafted in order for the State of Alaska to comply with the spirit of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 without hurting the state. We are increasing voter registration, as was the intent of the federal act, and we are doing it in the least costly way possible. In SB 303, designated voter registration agencies are the Division of Motor Vehicles and those agencies within the Department of Health & Social Services that administer food stamp programs, medicaid, WIC (Women with Infants & Children), and AFDC(Aid to Families with Dependent Children). The Division of Elections believes that since the state does distribute voter registration applications with the permanent fund dividend applications, the state will be able to pass muster by also providing voter registration applications through the previously mentioned programs. Ms. Glaiser states the Division of Elections has also added the Division of Municipal & Regional Assistance within the Department of Community & Regional Affairs to the list of agencies required to provide voter registration services. The Division of Elections believes this is a good agency to have offering voter registration services because its' employees go out into rural communities; they are bilingual, and so can assist those voters. Number 270 MS. GLAISER says other provisions in SB 303 bring the state into compliance with federal voting rights act. The federal act no longer requires witnessing or notarization of a voter registration applications, so the state has taken that out of its' requirements. SB 303 also provides for basic cleaning up of state laws to comply with the federal act. Also required in the federal act is "noticing". That is, the state can no longer purge a person from the list of registered voters simply for not voting. There have to be several notices sent out to a person when that person does not vote. The Division of Elections has little "clicks" in its' system. If a person signs a petition, the division will consider that a "click", which will draw the person's name to the forefront of voter registration lists. So that person will not be in danger of having their name purged from the list of registered voters. The division believes this will help keep district lists cleaner. The state had some concerns that if it did exactly what the federal act mandated, the district lists would be very clouded and heavy. What the state will do, is roll the district lists back into the master register, which won't affect the districts, and also will not disenfranchise a voter. Number 292 CHAIRMAN LEMAN thanks Ms. Glaiser and states that having another federal mandate placed on the state, when in his opinion, the state already has a system that is as good, perhaps better than what is required, offends him. Another thing that bothers the chairman is several years ago when a candidate submitted a change of address form, it was not witnessed by someone at the time the candidate submitted it. The chairman thinks that not requiring the witnessing of voter registration applications opens the door up for fraud. The last point he has, is if you cannot purge the voter registration list, the percentage of voter turn-out will decrease in relation to the total number of registered voters. Number 330 MS. GLAISER states the federal government is not interested in voter turn-out, only what states are doing to encourage voter registration, not voter participation. It is true that this legislation will throw off what voter turn-out looks like. But that is something every state will suffer from. Number 343 CHAIRMAN LEMAN asks what happens if the state does not pass and implement SB 303. MS. GLAISER replies the state has been threatened with a lawsuit from the Department of Justice. The state's concern is, because Alaska is a voting rights act state, everything the state does in regards to voting has to be cleared through the Department of Justice. That threat is valid enough for the administration to put this piece of legislation together. Number 355 SENATOR MILLER says it appears the Federal Voting Rights Act has much worse consequences for the State of Alaska than for the State of New York because Alaska is a voters' rights state under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which New York is not. Senator Miller faults Governor Sheffield's administration for not withdrawing Alaska from the jurisdiction of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it had the chance. As a result, the State of Alaska has to have everything cleared by the Justice Department. Senator Miller realizes that passing SB 303 is something the legislature must do, however, it is his feeling that the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1993 is unprovoked good from Washington, DC which will have a lot of serious consequences for the State of Alaska and other states. Number 368 SENATOR TAYLOR comments he has bills pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee for federal mandates relating to child support enforcement, federal highway funding, and motor voter legislation. Federal mandates are what we deserve when we put people like the Clintons in Washington, DC. The state will continue to roll over and act like a territory. Whatever state rights we had have long since been lost. The next bill on the committee's agenda (SB 280) is just one more piece of federal mandated crap to be stuffed down our throats. We ought to just ask congress to control our legislature for us, because they're controlling literally every aspect of certain provisions within our laws. The Alaska State Legislature is nothing more than a rubber stamp for Congress. We are overseers on federal domain. We might as well be honest enough to go out and tell the public that, instead of knee-jerking around and trying to convince them that they're actually human beings within the United States of America with the same civil rights, the same opportunities, that people have in other states. We are nothing but a territory. We never will be anything more than that. This is simply another prime example of that. Commenting on his speech, Senator Taylor says, "One more speech, a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing." Number 386 SENATOR MILLER asks when the state will again have the opportunity to get off the Civil Rights Act of 1964. MS. GLAISER answers she believes it is fifteen years from the last opportunity, but she will check on that. SENATOR MILLER thinks it is 1996 or 1997, but he fears this legislation would remove the state's opportunity to get off the Civil Rights Act by lowering the percentage of eligible voters participating in elections. Number 395 SENATOR TAYLOR expresses concern that negative comments made today in the committee hearing not be taken as umbrage by the Division of Elections or the Lieutenant Governor's Office. Senator Taylor thanks the Division of Elections and the Lieutenant Governor's Office for their work on SB 303. He supports the bill at this point, and thinks it is the best thing to have come out of the Lieutenant Governor's Office since the Lieutenant Governor took office. Number 405 CHAIRMAN LEMAN thanks Ms. Glaiser for her testimony and calls the next witness. Number 406 JEFF BUSH, Attorney for the Alaska Civil Liberties Union thanks the committee for scheduling SB 303 because it isn't often he gets to testify in favor of something these days. The American Civil Liberties Union, of which the Alaska Civil Liberties Union is a branch, places national priority on this type of legislation. The committee may have hit the nail on the head in regarding that this legislation may have impacts on a national basis that are very good in terms of voter registration, but may in fact be irrelevant in Alaska. Mr. Bush says he is testifying only to say that this legislation may be good, if only to avoid litigation and additional expense. As Senator Taylor stated, SB 303 is probably the best for which we can probably hope. As a result, Mr. Bush encourages the legislature to pass SB 303. He thinks it is a good piece of legislation in terms of what is being required of the state, irrespective of the pluses and minuses of how the national legislation affects Alaska. Number 428 SENATOR TAYLOR asks that SB 303 be moved from the Senate State Affairs Committee with individual recommendations. Number 429 CHAIRMAN LEMAN, hearing no objection, orders SB 303 released from committee with individual recommendations.
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