Legislature(2005 - 2006)BELTZ 211
02/08/2005 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB12 | |
| SB76 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 12 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 76 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 76-ELECTIONS
CHAIR THERRIALUT announced SB 76 to be up for consideration and
that he didn't intend to move the bill that day. He asked Laura
Glaiser to come forward.
LAURA GLAISER, Division of Elections director, explained that
the notations in the sectional analysis for SB 76 indicate the
portions that already received considerable discussion last
session.
She described many of the changes as housekeeping measures that
relate to: voter residency and reference to temporary
construction camps; registration; the option to give special
power of attorney; the ability to scan a document as an
application; transmission by facsimile; and early voting sites.
4:38:34 PM
CHAIR THERRIALUT announced that because this was an overview of
the bill, members should feel free to pose questions at any
time.
SENATOR ELTON referenced Section 6 that applies to notification
and questioned how you might apply the language change from "a
newspaper published in the House district" to "a newspaper
available in the House district" in all areas. It makes sense in
Juneau, he said, but the residents of Metlakatla and Cordova
probably subscribe to different papers.
MS. GLAISER said regional supervisors anticipate that and have
clerks become familiar with the communities in which they train
the poll workers so that they know which paper is likely to
reach the most people.
SENATOR ELTON asked if the practice would be to publish in both
ends of a district if it is as spread out as the Metlakatla to
Cordova House District.
MS. GLAISER replied regional supervisors make those kinds of
decisions.
4:41:55 PM
CHAIR THERRIALUT remarked newspapers aren't necessarily
published in the same area in which they're circulated.
MS. GLAISER said Sections 7, 16, 17, and 18 relate to
independent presidential and vice presidential candidates
because there were no statutory provisions to deal with those
candidates in the last election. The changes treat them as party
candidates so the candidate name appears on the ballot.
The change in Section 16 places more onus on an independent
presidential candidate than there would be on a party candidate,
she said, but it's to show a tie to an Alaskan base and validate
an Alaska candidacy.
MS. GLAISER said from Section 19 on most of the bill relates to
initiative, referendum and recall petitions.
4:44:57 PM
SENATOR ELTON asked whether the paper backup that was discussed
last year meshed with Section 15.
MS. GLAISER replied that section relates to standards for voting
machines. It says the "Division of Elections will only utilize
systems certified by the FEC [Federal Election Commission] and
all updates to data management systems must be certified before
the state implements the system."
4:46:33 PM
MS. GLAISER continued her explanation and said sections 19 and
on relate to petitions and recall. They added the requirement
for a printed name and birth date when an application for a
petition is signed. This will aid data entry when qualifying
voters share the same name.
4:47:50 PM
SENATOR ELTON said he was curious as to why the additional
identifier was restricted to the date of birth.
4:48:26 PM
MS. GLAISER replied the date of birth is the only voter
identification that is required on an application and all the
others identifiers are optional.
CHAIR THERRIAULT added everyone knows his or her date of birth,
but not everyone memorizes a Social Security or driver's license
number.
MS. GLAISER said this was a best effort attempt to qualify more
people. Lieutenant Governor Leman would also like the date the
petition is signed added as a requirement. This information
would make it possible to determine whether or not a petition
signer was a registered voter at the time of the signing.
Currently it's not clear that you're required to be a registered
voter when you sign a petition. By statute, petition books may
circulate for a year after which the signatures are verified.
The division qualifies the signature after the petition book is
submitted, but that doesn't mean the signer was a qualified
voter at the time he or she signed the petition.
As written, SB 76 does not require a date when signing a
petition. If that's an important policy change, you might want
to consider an amendment, she said.
4:51:44 PM
SENATOR ELTON recapped saying: "There is a possibility that
there could be a requirement that date of birth is important and
if you're going to be old enough to vote at the time the
initiative is on the ballot that could be something this
committee or another committee of the Legislature could decide
to use as a cut-off point or whether they were a registered
voter at the time they signed the petition book."
MS. GLAISER replied the division believes that if a voter is
qualified at the time of data entry, he or she is a qualified
voter, but they have no way of determining whether or not that
person is qualified when they signed because no date is required
when signing. A date column could be added to the petition book
if that's what you want, she said.
4:53:24 PM
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked for clarification because graduating
seniors are encouraged to register to vote if they would be of
age before the election.
MS. GLAISER replied an applicant becomes a qualified voter on
the day they register, but they can't access a ballot because
registration must occur at least 90 days before an election.
However, it would be a test if a special election were to occur
prior to that 90 days.
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked what date you would be a qualified voter
if you turned 18 the day before the November election.
MS. GLAISER said according to statutory language a person is a
qualified voter when the data entry is completed, but their
ballot would count only if their birthday fell 90 days prior to
the election.
4:55:06 PM
CHAIR THERRIAULT questioned whether a 16 year old could sign up
because he or she would be qualified to vote two years hence.
MS. GLAISER said no.
CHAIR THERRIAULT agreed that they wouldn't be able to vote, but
he was curious whether they could fill out the application and
send it in.
MS. GLAISER said it's a question of semantics. "Yes they could
send it in; no they would not become a qualified voter." The key
is 90 days prior to the election, she said.
4:55:56 PM
CHAIR THERRIAULT questioned how that matches with the initiative
process. He asked whether a 17 year old could sign an initiative
booklet since they can circulate for up to a year.
4:56:20 PM
MS. GLAISER replied she wasn't sure, but if a person signed and
they were in the database, the signature would qualify.
CHAIR THERRIAULT remarked they couldn't be in the database
unless they were qualified a maximum of 90 days prior to an
election. He asked her to continue.
MS. GLAISER agreed then went on to explain that petition
circulators are required to sign an affidavit stating that they
are at least 18 years of age, an Alaskan resident, and a U.S.
citizen. Being a registered voter is not a requirement.
They found that in initiatives requirements were different for
signers, circulators and sponsors so the division made changes
to make the rules the same for initiative, referendum and recall
signers.
To add continuity, Section 34 requires the printed name and date
of birth to be included when signing a recall application and
removes the requirement for the additional 100 qualified voter
signatures. Also, the three sponsors must provide names, mailing
addresses and signatures.
Section 37 removes language referring to a "duplicate copy"
because none are assigned in a recall petition effort. After
that, posting requirements were changed in initiative,
referendum and recall petitions.
5:00:15 PM
Section 43 defines voters that are not affiliated with a party
because there was no statutory provision to do so and Section 44
relates to recognized party status. The division wanted bright
lines set for verifying a political party, when it becomes a
political group and how it would reaffirm its status as a
political party.
Section 45 relates to the definition of "re-registration" and
"statewide office." Sections 46-48 include recommendations to
Title 29 from Department of Commerce, Community and Economic
Development (DCCED) that works with local elections.
5:04:11 PM
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked whether committee members had any
questions. There being none, he asked Linda Murphy whether she
had concerns about specific sections of the bill.
5:04:36 PM
LINDA MURPHY, Kenai Peninsula Borough clerk, said she was
concerned about the sections related to registering to vote and
requesting an absentee ballot through power of attorney because
it might open the door to voter fraud. This state makes it very
easy to register to vote and apply for an absentee ballot so
consider this section carefully before you act on it, she
cautioned.
CHAIR THERRIAULT informed Ms. Murphy that SB 36 deals with that
section but it doesn't include scanning language. They are
trying to make it clear that no party or person may position
themselves between the ballot applicant and the Division of
Elections for processing sensitive personal information. "I
wouldn't want to open up a big loophole by allowing it to be
done by an affidavit so that section may come out of the bill
altogether," he said.
MS. MURPHY said she had similar concerns about the section that
deals with registration using power of attorney.
5:06:27 PM
CHAIR THERRIAULT asked Ms. Glaiser to respond.
MS. GLAISER explained that she made a commitment to family
members with spouses or children who were stationed overseas
unexpectedly. The recommendation was for a special power of
attorney that would be specific to voter registration or
changing an absentee ballot application.
CHAIR THERRIAULT said he wasn't sure why an individual wouldn't
have time to address Division of Elections business if they had
time to tend to the power of attorney and other paperwork in
preparation for leaving.
LAURA GLAISER replied she was ready to accept any decision the
committee made in that regard. To honor her promise she put the
suggestion out for discussion.
5:08:55 PM
LINDA MURPHY said she was referring to the initial voter
registration and she wouldn't necessarily object to someone
correcting a mailing address for a loved one who was overseas.
She agreed with Chair Therriault that if a person had the time
to fill out paperwork for a power of attorney then they would
have time to go online and get a voter registration application
and get it to the Division of Elections.
SENATOR CHARLIE HUGGINS said he could understand the reasoning,
but it could open Pandora's Box.
5:10:47 PM
CHAIR THERRIAULT said the policy balance is to accommodate the
few but not open Pandora's Box to the many.
Finding no further questions, Chair Therriault encouraged
members to read the bill carefully and highlight any questions
so they could be addressed in a committee substitute (CS) before
the bill was heard again.
CHAIR THERRIAULT held SB 76 in committee and adjourned the
meeting at 5:11:21 PM.
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