Legislature(2025 - 2026)ADAMS 519
04/22/2025 01:30 PM House FINANCE
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB21 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 57 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 21 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
April 22, 2025
4:09 p.m.
4:09:51 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Foster called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 4:09 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Neal Foster, Co-Chair
Representative Andy Josephson, Co-Chair
Representative Calvin Schrage, Co-Chair
Representative Jamie Allard
Representative Jeremy Bynum
Representative Alyse Galvin
Representative Sara Hannan
Representative Nellie Unangiq Jimmie
Representative Frank Tomaszewski
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative DeLena Johnson
Representative Will Stapp
ALSO PRESENT
Representative Andi Story, Sponsor; Honour Miller-Austin,
Staff, Representative Andi Story.
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Lem Wheeles, Civics Teacher, Anchorage; Carol Beecher,
Director, Division of Elections, Office of the Lieutenant
Governor; Kathleen Wallace, Acting Director, Division of
Motor Vehicles, Department of Administration.
SUMMARY
HB 21 VOTER PREREGISTRATION FOR MINORS
HB 21 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Foster reviewed the meeting agenda.
Co-Chair Schrage relayed that the committee would hear the
capital budget the following day.
HOUSE BILL NO. 21
"An Act relating to voter preregistration for minors
at least 16 years of age; and relating to
confidentiality of voter registration and
preregistration records of minors at least 16 years of
age."
4:11:55 PM
Co-Chair Foster asked the sponsor and her staff to come to
the table and introduce the bill.
REPRESENTATIVE ANDI STORY, SPONSOR, introduced herself.
HONOUR MILLER-AUSTIN, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE ANDI STORY,
introduced herself.
Representative Story reviewed the bill with prepared
remarks:
House Bill 21 seeks to increase youth civics
education, knowledge and interest about the voting
process by allowing 16-year-olds to pre-register to
vote. Voting is fundamental to a healthy democracy for
our state and country.
Many adults are concerned about a lack of civics
education and engagement for our youth, which can
contribute to a lack of knowledge by youth about their
government and involvement in the voting process. And
indeed, across the nation, young people (age 18-29)
typically have the lowest voter turnout of any age
group. This is especially true within Alaska where the
voter turnout in 2020 general election, we ranked
amongst the bottom 10 states with a youth voter
turnout of 45.70%.
Currently, 90 days before their 18th birthday, Alaskan
youth can register to vote. This is a time when many
youths are facing graduation, work, and post-secondary
decisions. Many may be moving for school or a job and
not sure where to register. So, finding the time or
motivation to register can become more difficult,
which leads to lower youth registration and turnout.
House Bill 21 seeks to address these concerns by
allowing 16-year-olds to preregister to vote and
providing easy access to the process.
At 16, young people are living at home with family or
guardians, and attending school, often times taking a
government class, making it a good time to ensure
youth have support in the voter registration process,
The questions surrounding registration is not as
confusing when they have someone at home or school who
understands the system and can help them through the
process.
Research shows that when young voters do register,
they are likely to turn out to vote. And those who
vote, develop the habit of voting in elections. States
like Florida, Louisiana, California and Colorado have
already implemented preregistration with great
success, increasing youth voter turnout.
This bill would follow federal law and automatically
provide an opportunity to register those youth who get
a driver's license at the DMV. A driver's license is a
big rite of passage for 16-year-olds, and combining
the opportunity to register to vote at the same time
provides easy access. If they choose to register at
that time. The youth who would preregister were put
into a pending status and filed away until 45 days
before their 18th birthday. The Division of Elections
would verify their address and their residency by
mailing them a postage paid return envelope,
requesting confirmation of the address. This would be
returned and signed before a voter registration card
and polling place information can be mailed to them
with a receipt.
This bill also importantly corrects a flaw in our
statute it establishes that the address and telephone
number of any person under the age of 18 who registers
or preregisters to vote shall remain confidential and
not be subject to public view. Currently 17-year-olds
who preregistered to vote do not have this protection.
4:16:24 PM
Representative Story continued explaining the bill with
prepared remarks:
The impact of this bill goes beyond just making voter
pre-registration available. By allowing 16-year-olds
to preregister, we are giving access and civic
opportunities to prepare the next generation to
actively participate in their democracy. This bill
bolsters our state's commitment and policies that
engage young people in the democratic process.
Co-Chair Foster outlined his plan for hearing HB 21.
Representative Story corrected the second reference to the
90 day period in the sponsor statement that inadvertently
read 45 days.
Ms. Miller-Austin reviewed the sectional analysis of the
bill (copy on file):
Section 1: This section introduces two new subsections
to AS 15.07.040, allowing individuals who are at least
16 years of age but under 18 years of age to
preregister to vote.
• Subsection (b): Establishes the eligibility
criteria for preregistration, a person aged 16
may preregister by providing the necessary
information under AS 15.07.060(a). Instead of
declaring that they will be 18 years of age or
older within 90 days of registration.
• Subsection (c): Outlines the process by which
the division ensures accurate registration
information prior to a preregistered individual
reaching voting age. Ninety days before the
preregistered individual turns 18, the division
must send a nonforwardable notice to the
individual's registered mailing address. This
notice will request confirmation or correction of
their address and include a prepaid, pre-
addressed return card.
o The notice will specify that the individual
must return the card within 45 days.
o Failure to return the card within the deadline
may result in the individual not being registered
to vote.
o If the individual returns the card, the
division will complete their voter registration
upon their 18th birthday and issue a registration
card.
Section 2: Amends AS 15.07.195 to add new subsection
(e) to read,
• The address and telephone number of a person
under 18 years of age who registers or
preregisters to vote are confidential.
Co-Chair Foster asked to hear from invited testimony.
LEM WHEELES, CIVICS TEACHER, ANCHORAGE (via
teleconference), provided testimony in support of the
legislation. He shared that he taught Government at Diamond
Highschool for twenty one years that included teaching
students how to register to vote. He discussed the unique
challenges for current 18 year olds to register to vote. He
observed that young people were typically excited to vote
for the first time but did not think about it until they
turned 18 and often forget to register. They miss their
chance to vote in their first election. He shared an
example of one of his students' disappointment when he
missed the 30-day registration window before an upcoming
election. The situation happened on the same day
Representative Story had reached out to him about HB 21. He
explained that if the bill were to pass, students would be
able to register as early as age 16 but would not be able
to vote until 18 years of age. He believed that it would
solve one of the biggest problems with first time 18 year
old voters. He indicated that not all of his students were
old enough to preregister when he taught the class. He
emphasized that if adopted, HB 21 would allow all of his
senior year class to preregister. He viewed the bill as a
good way for young people to get engaged with the republic.
He thanked the committee.
4:22:09 PM
Co-Chair Foster asked for a review of the two fiscal notes.
CAROL BEECHER, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF ELECTIONS, OFFICE OF
THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR (via teleconference), reviewed the
published fiscal impact note from the Office of the
Governor allocated to the Division of Elections [FN2
(GOV)]. She explained that the total estimated General Fund
(GF) cost was $15,042. The amount was derived from an
Alaska population estimate of 16-year-olds at 10,303 in
2024. Assuming all 10,303 preregistered to vote, the cost
to mail the non-forwardable notice would be $7,512 (10,303 x
0.73 postage), with an additional cost of $7,512 for the
postage prepaid return card for a total estimated annual
cost of $15,042.
4:24:52 PM
Co-Chair Foster asked for a review of the second fiscal
note.
[Secretary Note: There was no one available to review the
second fiscal note.]
Representative Galvin appreciated the impetus of the bill.
She directed a question to Mr. Wheeles. She asked if he
told students which candidate for vote for. Mr. Wheeles
answered that he did not care what students' political
views were. He cared that they thought about how to vote
and that they registered. He added that he discussed the
timing of elections, the lengths of terms, etc. He wanted
his students to make up their own minds on who to vote for.
He emphasized that it was not his place to influence his
students' political views. Representative Galvin thanked
Mr. Wheeles. She directed a question to the sponsor. She
asked if it would become part of the process for DMV forms.
Representative Story replied affirmatively. She offered
that the DMV form would include an optional check box for
voter registration at age 16.
Co-Chair Foster asked Ms. Beecher for comments.
Representative Galvin repeated her question and also
wondered what a "non-political" mailer was. Ms. Beecher
clarified that she stated a "non-forwardable" notice would
be sent out.
Co-Chair Foster recognized Representative Tomaszewski had
joined the meeting.
4:29:38 PM
Co-Chair Foster returned to the second fiscal note. He
asked for an explanation.
KATHLEEN WALLACE, ACTING DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF MOTOR
VEHICLES, DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION (via
teleconference), answered that the published fiscal impact
note for the Department of Administration allocated to
Motor Vehicles [FN 1 (ADM)] cost $45 thousand in Designated
General Funds for FY 2026. She explained that the bill
would require the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to
update its programming and had estimated they would not
exceed 300 hours. The costs assumed $150.00 per hour at 300
hours totaling the one-time fee of $45,000.
Representative Bynum was trying to grasp the necessity for
the bill. He reported that the state already had mechanisms
available for people to register to vote. He listed the
ways individuals could register to vote including the
Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) application that had an
automatic voter registration component. He did not
understand the purpose for the bill. He reviewed items that
had been important to him when he was a teen: obtaining a
drivers license, registering to vote, and registering for
Selective Service. He noted that Alaska's educational
system was providing instruction about voter registration
and wondered what the bill would accomplish.
Representative Story replied that one of the reasons she
believed it was critically important to give 16 year-olds
the opportunity to preregister was due to the lack of
civics education and the decline in civics. She believed
that the preregistration was "civics in real time." She
believed that it was an opportunity for youth to learn the
responsibility of voting to help shape democracy. She had
learned from other states that preregistration helped
entire families vote due to it generating a household
discussion about the preregistration instruction. The bill
would help build young voters in Alaska, which had the
lowest young citizen vote. She had been dismayed to
discover that more people were not exercising their right
to vote. She believed that it was essential that
registering to vote should become a "right of passage." She
relayed that 17 states had adopted voter preregistration
and noted that more people were voting in those states.
4:35:13 PM
Representative Allard noted the state's current financial
difficulties. She remarked on the bill's fiscal impact. She
asked if once a 16-year old preregistered, would they
automatically be able to vote at age 18. Representative
Story answered that 90 days before a preregistered person
turned 18, DMV would send a mailer confirming the person's
address and the person would need to return the mailer.
Upon receipt of the mailer, the person would receive their
voter registration card. Representative Allard asked if
youths were taught whether they wanted to be a Democrat or
Republican, etc. at the age of 16. She also mentioned her
concern over security breaches. She did not think the voter
registration system was broken. She reiterated her concern
about security breaches and shared a story when 130
thousand Alaskan voters' information was released to the
public. She referenced Representative Story's statement
about the lack of civics classes but believed that today's
children were "getting live time civics classes" through
social media and had a lot of exposure to politics. She
agreed with Representative Bynum's comments. She thanked
the sponsor.
4:38:48 PM
Representative Story explained that the preregistered
addresses were put in a pending file at the Division of
Elections and were not released to the public. She
indicated that the bill closed a loophole where currently,
17 year olds' information was available. She asked to hear
from Mr. Wheeles.
Representative Allard asked about the loophole.
Representative Story deferred the question to Ms. Beecher.
Ms. Beecher responded that currently when a 17 year old
preregistered, 90 days before their 18th birthday they were
considered registered to vote and active for registration.
Therefore, when someone received a voter list they could
see the 17 year old's information. Representative Allard
asked about marketing. She asked if a preregistered youth
was vulnerable to marketing. She inquired whether their
information was in the division's computer.
Ms. Beecher answered that if the bill passed, the
preregistered 16-year olds' information would be kept in a
sequestered list and would not be available to the public.
Representative Allard believed that there were still
security breaches at the Division of Elections that had not
yet been fixed. She asked for a guarantee that voter
information would never be breached. Ms. Beecher answered
that subsequent to the incursion Representative Allard
referred to the division moved to the level of protection
recommended by the state's Office of Information Technology
in addition to multiple other actions for protection that
the division undertook i.e., penetration tests and regular
status reports. She would not be able to give 100 percent
certainty the system could not ever be breached because she
did not think that was ever possible for any system. She
offered that the division adopted the enhanced security
measures recommended by Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency (CISA) and the firewall by the state's
Office of Information Technology.
4:43:29 PM
Representative Allard directed a question to the DMV. She
wondered why the preregistration information was directed
to the DMV. Ms. Wallace replied that nothing was added to a
driver's license when anyone registered to vote at present.
The voter registration information was collected and
transferred to the Division of Elections. She characterized
DMV's role as a "middleman." Representative Allard remarked
that the middleman cost money and should be cut out. She
deduced that the bill merely moved preregistration from 90
days to two years and the DMV was merely the middleman. Ms.
Wallace replied affirmatively. The division would collect
the information needed for the Division of Elections to
house the information.
4:46:03 PM
Mr. Wheeles informed the committee that he taught students
about the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 known as
the "Motor Voter Act." He noted that federal law required
DMV to offer the opportunity for citizens to register to
vote when individuals obtained a driver's license. He
discussed the concept of political parties with his
students and their role in the democratic systems that was
part of the recently updated Alaska Standards for Social
Studies adopted by the state Board Of Education. He
explained that his instruction included how a political
party worked, and the platforms of the five major political
parties in the country, letting students draw their own
conclusions. He indicated that government courses were not
currently required by state law, and it was a district
decision whether Civics was offered.
Representative Tomaszewski appreciated Representative
Story's bill. He understood that currently a 17.5 year old
could register to vote. Representative Story replied in the
negative and clarified that it was currently 3 months prior
to a person's 18th birthday. Representative Tomaszewski
noted that the bill was expanded by another year and three
quarters. Representative Story nodded affirmatively.
Representative Tomaszewski ascertained that at age 18 with
the PFD application the person was registered to vote.
Representative Story nodded affirmatively. Representative
Tomaszewski asked for confirmation that if an 18 year old
registered to vote less than 30 days before an election
they were disallowed to vote. Representative Story
responded that a person was able to vote when they turned
18. She confirmed that a non-registered 18 year old was
automatically registered when they filled out their PFD
application.
4:51:30 PM
Ms. Beecher replied that the list sent to the Division of
Elections would not register someone who applied for the
PFD if they were not 18 when they filled out their
application. Representative Tomaszewski asked when the last
day was a person could register before an election. Ms.
Beecher answered that current law required registration 30
days before an election in order to vote in that election.
Representative Bynum thought that the requirement for
civics education should perhaps be changed. He cited:
AS 15.07.060. (a) (12) a certification that the
applicant understands that a false statement on the
application may make the applicant subject to
prosecution for a misdemeanor under this title or AS
11.
Representative Bynum wondered if a 16 year old was capable
of legally meeting the standard and if the sponsor had
considered the scenario.
4:54:16 PM
Representative Story answered in the negative. She
determined that a 16 year olds worked jobs and registered
to drive. Therefore, they would be familiar with the
statute. She deferred to Mr. Wheeles.
Mr. Wheeles was unable to provide comment.
Representative Story indicated that she had been told the
offense was a misdemeanor.
Representative Bynum stated the ability for a 16 year old
to reason legal matters was much different than an 18 year
old. He believed that registering to vote was a serious
responsibility and wondered what impact it would have on 16
year olds. He asked if it had been considered that instead
of the preregistered 16 year old receiving a card checking
on their address they received a reminder to register to
vote instead. Representative Story answered that the
Division of Elections felt verifying addresses was
critically important since people moved often in Alaska.
Representative Bynum reiterated current law allowing 17
year olds to register early. He repeated his question
regarding creating a reminder system instead and asked if
it had been considered. Representative Story replied that
she looked at the other 17 states that currently allowed 16
year olds to preregister to vote. She reported that those
states had not had any problems. She would like to join
that group of states and felt that 16 year olds were
capable of preregistration. She offered that many things
were happening three months prior to a person's 18th
birthday and believed the prospect of voting would create
excitement.
4:59:39 PM
Representative Hannan appreciated Mr. Wheeles. She noted
that the crime in statute was about lying on a registration
form. She informed the committee that she had taught
American Government. She shared a story about a student
wanting to make false statements on forms believing that a
juvenile record was sealed. She informed students that a
juvenile record was only sealed from the public but not law
enforcement and any infractions must be reported. She
reminded the committee that 16 year old drivers were
responsible for their legal actions and were not treated
any differently than a person who was 18 or older, She
believed that the legal obligations were clearly conveyed
to and understood by a 16 year old. She voiced that the
preregistration was "not a new creation of 16 year olds
having an obligation to be truthful, honest, and accurate
about the information they present."
Co-Chair Foster thanked the bill sponsor.
HB 21 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Foster reviewed the schedule for the following
day.
ADJOURNMENT
5:02:14 PM
The meeting was adjourned at 5:02 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB21 Supporting Docs - Board Resolution no. 1 from Alaska Association of Student Governments 03.25.25.pdf |
HFIN 4/22/2025 1:30:00 PM |
HB 21 |