Legislature(2023 - 2024)GRUENBERG 120
03/30/2023 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB140 | |
| HB129 | |
| HB130 | |
| HB131 | |
| HB132|| HB129|| HB130|| HB131 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 130 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 131 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 132 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 140 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 129 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
March 30, 2023
3:02 p.m.
DRAFT
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Laddie Shaw, Chair
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative Craig Johnson
Representative Jamie Allard
Representative Andi Story
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Stanley Wright, Vice Chair
Representative Jennie Armstrong
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 140
"An Act relating to the State Officers Compensation Commission;
and relating to policies of the Alaska Legislative Council
regarding allowances and reimbursement for moving expenses."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 129
"An Act relating to voter registration; and providing for an
effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 130
"An Act relating to the crimes of unlawful interference with an
election, election fraud, and election official misconduct; and
providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 131
"An Act relating to voting machines and vote tally systems; and
providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 132
"An Act relating to election security, voting, and ballots; and
providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 140
SHORT TITLE: LEG SALARIES; STATE OFFICERS COMP COMM
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST
03/27/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/27/23 (H) STA
03/28/23 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/28/23 (H) <Bill Hearing Rescheduled to 03/30/23>
03/30/23 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 129
SHORT TITLE: VOTER REGISTRATION
SPONSOR(s): JUDICIARY
03/22/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/22/23 (H) STA, JUD
03/28/23 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/28/23 (H) Scheduled but Not Heard
03/30/23 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 130
SHORT TITLE: ELECTION INTERFERENCE, FRAUD, MISCONDUCT
SPONSOR(s): JUDICIARY
03/22/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/22/23 (H) STA, JUD
03/30/23 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 131
SHORT TITLE: VOTING MACHINES AND VOTE TALLY SYSTEMS
SPONSOR(s): JUDICIARY
03/22/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/22/23 (H) STA, JUD
03/30/23 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 132
SHORT TITLE: ELECTIONS: BALLOT, VOTING, SECURITY
SPONSOR(s): JUDICIARY
03/22/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/22/23 (H) STA, JUD
03/30/23 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
HEATH HILYARD, Staff
Representative Cathy Tilton
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced HB 140 on behalf of the House
Rules Standing Committee, sponsor by request of Speaker Tilton.
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 129 via PowerPoint
presentation, on behalf of the House Judiciary Standing
Committee.
MICHAELA THOMPSON, Administrative Operations Manager
Division of Elections
Wasilla, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
129.
THOMAS FLYNN, Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
129.
CAROL BEECHER, Director
Division of Elections
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
129.
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 130 on behalf of the House
Judiciary Standing Committee.
MICHAELA THOMPSON, Administrative Operations Manager
Division of Elections
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
130.
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 131 on behalf of the House
Judiciary Standing Committee.
MATT ROE, Head of Product
Voting Works
California
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered invited testimony during the
hearing on HB 131.
THOMAS FLYNN, Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
131.
CAROL BEECHER, Director
Division of Elections
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
131.
MICHAELA THOMPSON, Administrative Operations Manager
Division of Elections
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
131.
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 132 via PowerPoint
presentation, on behalf of the House Judiciary Standing
Committee.
CAROL BEECHER, Director
Division of Elections
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
132.
THOMAS FLYNN, Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
132.
MICHAELA THOMPSON, Administrative Operations Manager
Division of Elections
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
132.
KAREN LEWIS
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 132, HB 129, HB 130, and HB
131.
PAMELA SAMASH
Concerned Conservatives of Alaska
Nenana, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 132, HB 129, HB
130, and HB 131.
JOHN MILLER
Matsu, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 132, HB 129, HB
130, and HB 131.
GERALD VOSS
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 132, HB 129, HB
130, and HB 131.
JOHN LETTOW
Wasilla, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 132, HB 129, HB
130, and HB 131.
MIKE COONS, President
Concerned Conservatives of Alaska
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 132, HB 129, HB
130, and HB 131.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:02:46 PM
CHAIR LADDIE SHAW called the House State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. Representatives
Carpenter, C. Johnson, Allard, Story, and Shaw were present at
the call to order.
HB 140-LEG SALARIES; STATE OFFICERS COMP COMM
3:04:03 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 140, "An Act relating to the State Officers
Compensation Commission; and relating to policies of the Alaska
Legislative Council regarding allowances and reimbursement for
moving expenses."
3:04:38 PM
HEATH HILYARD, Staff, Representative Cathy Tilton, Alaska State
Legislature, presented HB 140 on behalf of the House Rules
Standing Committee, sponsor by request of Speaker Tilton. He
paraphrased the sponsor statement [included in the committee
packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
The goal of HB 140 was not to institute sweeping
changes to the statute, but otherwise update and
refine them with an eye to protecting and maximizing
public transparency, de-politicizing the actions or
lack of actions taken by the Legislature in responding
to specific recommendations and allowing the
commission adequate time to complete their work and
the Legislature adequate time to thoughtfully
deliberate on those recommendations.
After conferring with several different parties who
were directly involved in the recommendations or were
otherwise involved in the process, it became apparent
that there were several changes needed to the statutes
governing the Alaska State Officers Compensation
Commission (ASOCC) and the work they are tasked with.
Among other things, HB 140 expands the amount of time
ASOCC has to make recommendations and the amount of
time the Legislature has to respond and dictates that
changes to legislative salaries go into effect only
after an intervening election cycle.
MR. HILYARD summarized the sectional analysis [included in the
committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
SECTION 1 & 2 Sections 1 & 2 codify existing
practice that the Legislative Council is responsible
for establishing annual allowances, including per diem
and relocation expenses.
SECTION 3 Section 3 establishes a new section in the
statute articulates the policy and purpose of the
commission to "attract and retain talented, capable
individuals to serve in the highest leadership roles
of the state".
SECTION 4 Section 4 stipulates that ASOCC will
review and make salary recommendations ONLY once every
two years.
SECTION 5 Section 5 does two things. First it starts
the process two weeks earlier than current statute
(from November 15th to November 1st); and secondly it
structures the two-year cycle so that there will be an
intervening election between when the recommendations
are made by the commission and when those
recommendations go into effect for the Legislature.
SECTION 6 Section 6 also does three things. It
expands the amount of time the Commission has to
submit their recommendations to the Legislature,
expands the amount of time the Legislature has to act
in response to the recommendations, and stipulates
that salary recommendations for the Legislature can
only go into effect at the start of a new Legislature.
SECTION 7 Finally, section 7 provides greater
clarity about the amendment process, by providing
clean-up language, creating a specific deadline for
amendments to be submitted and expressly providing
that an amended report does not reset the timeline by
which the legislature must act.
CHAIR SHAW invited questions from members of the committee.
3:09:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY inquired about the meaning of "reasonable
public notice" in Section 5 of the bill.
MR. HILYARD said "reasonable public notice" was held over from
the existing statutory language, adding that the phrase mirrored
language in the Open Meetings Act. He noted that a forthcoming
amendment would stipulate a 5-day public notice protocol.
3:10:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked whether the commission had violated
its own 20-day public notice requirement.
MR. HILYARD answered no. He clarified that the 20-day notice
referenced in the governing statutes applied to the commission
members not the public.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked whether the commission had suspended
public notice.
MR. HILYARD clarified that the commission had suspended the 20-
day notice to themselves.
3:11:34 PM
CHAIR SHAW opened public testimony on HB 140. After
ascertaining that no one in the room or online wished to
testify, he closed public testimony. He announced that HB 140
was held over.
3:12:45 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
HB 129-VOTER REGISTRATION
3:15:13 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 129, "An Act relating to voter registration; and
providing for an effective date."
3:15:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, presented
HB 129, on behalf of the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
She presented the sponsor statement [included in the committee
packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
House Bill 129 tackles Alaska's over-inflated voter
rolls that are estimated to be around 113 percent! The
challenge facing the Division of Elections to maintain
current and accurate voter rolls is exacerbated by a
highly transit population, automatic voter
registration on the Permanent Fund Dividend
application, and a current law that allows people to
stay registered in the state as long as they have an
"intent of returning."
HB 129 addresses these concerns by requiring the
director to send letters to confirm the address of all
voters not domiciled in Alaska and an easier system to
cancel voter registration. Furthermore, this bill
adopts the best practices for verifying valid Alaskan
voter status with multiple databases. Alaska is
currently part of the ERIC system and does not have a
50-state data comparison in place to assure those
voting in Alaska are domiciled in-state or are
qualified to vote in our elections. This bill mandates
adoption of a best practice voter registration system
with a written maintenance schedule.
The foundation of secure and trustworthy elections
begins with accurate voter rolls. Over-registering
voters makes our election system inaccurate and
vulnerable to the actions of bad actors. Compromised
data invites those with nefarious intent to exploit
inactive voters and invites those who do not live in
Alaska to influence our elections.
HB 129 provides clear direction to help clean up our
voter rolls to reflect a more accurate representation
of the Alaskan electorate to build trust in our
election system!
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE directed attention to a PowerPoint
presentation, titled "HB 29 Voter Registration" [included in the
committee packet]. Slide 2 referenced an article from the
Anchorage Daily News (ADN), titled "Why does Alaska have a 106%
voter registration rate?" She discussed statistics related to
over-registered voters in Alaska and how that could influence
election outcomes, emphasizing the importance of cleaning up the
voter rolls.
3:23:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE continued to slide 3, which outlined the
following list of inclusions in the proposed legislation: annual
review, review data breaches, compare eligible voters, specify
databases, maintenance schedule, registration cancelation. She
detailed the annual review on slide 4, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
January of each year, the director shall examine the
master register, and shall send a notice requesting
address confirmation or correction to each voter
(4) who,...is not domiciled in the state
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE discussed the review of data breaches on
slide 5, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Regulations must provide for review of the register
for data breaches,...
State officials said "outside actors" accessed the
data through a flaw in the online voter registration
system, which has since been patched. They were able
to pull registered voters' names, dates of birth,
state identification numbers, last four digits of
Social Security numbers, addresses and party
affiliations. (Party affiliations, names and addresses
are already publicly available through the state's
voter information database.) ADN article Dec. 3, 2020
3:25:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE proceeded to slide 6, which highlighted the
comparison of eligible voters as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Compare persons eligible to vote in the state,
• deceased voters
• felons
• not qualified to vote under AS 15.05
• persons registered to vote in another state
3:25:28 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE addressed the specification of databases on
slide 7, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
The regulations must specify records and databases for
use in reviewing the master register;
• USPS National Change of Address Database
• Electronic Registration Information Center
• DMV records
• Department of Corrections
• Property & Sales Tax Records
• Social Security Records
• Municipal Assessor Database
• Social Security Administration Death Index
• Alien Database by Homeland Security
• Jury Duty Records
3:26:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE detailed the maintenance schedule on slide
8, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
provide a report on the system to the Legislature on
the first day of session inform a voter of the
criteria to qualify as a voter and penalties for
misconduct.
• provide a report on the system to the Legislature
on the first day of session
• inform a voter of the criteria to qualify as a
voter and penalties for misconduct.
3:26:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE concluded on slide 9, titled "Registration
Cancellation," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
The director shall develop a process to allow a voter
to cancel the voter ' s registration...
• in person
• before an election offical
• electronically " email"
• display instructions for a voter to cancel the
voter ' s registration at each polling place.
3:29:55 PM
CHAIR SHAW invited questions from members of the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked whether automatic voter registration
via the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) application would be
impacted by the bill.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE clarified that the automatic voter
registration with the Permanent Fund Dividend Division,
[Department of Revenue (DOR)], was unchanged in the bill. She
explained that the data provided by the division was one of the
most reliable and active databases for eligible Alaskan
residents.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD expressed concern about voters being
registered automatically.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE recalled that the provision in question was
passed in 2016. She shared her understanding that there were
conversations being had about adding an "opt-in" selection for
voter registration [on the PFD application].
3:31:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked whether the maintenance schedule
[on slide 8] referred to voting equipment or the voter list.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said the bill specifically referred to the
master register voter list.
3:32:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY observed that the bill intended to use
"best practices" to verify voter status. She asked how those
best practices were developed.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE responded that the bill outlined the
legislature's idea of best practices as a starting place.
Ultimately, she said, best practices would be developed by the
director of the Division of Elections (DOE).
REPRESENTATIVE STORY inquired about current practices for
undeliverable ballots.
3:35:10 PM
MICHAELA THOMPSON, Administrative Operations Manager, DOE,
responded that for by-mail elections in the City and Borough of
Juneau, undeliverable ballots were processed by the division.
She added that a note would be made on the voter's record
specifying an undeliverable mail address.
3:35:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether the voter would be removed
from the voter rolls if his/her ballot was undeliverable.
MS. THOMPSON explained that the voter would be flagged as
"undeliverable status," whereby a notice would be sent informing
the individual that his/her registration would be inactivated
unless a response was sent within 45 days.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether there was a way to track a
person's intent to return [to Alaska].
MS. THOMPSON indicated that a person's intent to return would be
difficult to track.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY requested a follow-up response from the
division on that line of questioning.
3:38:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked whether a person would be prohibited
from voting as an Alaskan resident if he/she lived in a foreign
country on a visa.
MS. THOMPSON said federal law allowed individuals who live
overseas with the intent to return to maintain their
registration in Alaska and still participate in elections. She
noted that those without the intent to return were still allowed
to vote in federal elections.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD considered the scenario of an ex-patriot
who had retired in Thailand for the past five years with the
intent to return to Alaska. She asked whether he/she was
allowed to vote in municipal elections.
3:40:15 PM
MS. THOMPSON deferred the question to Mr. Flynn.
3:40:25 PM
THOMAS FLYNN, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law
(DOL), said many situations would be fact specific. He cited AS
15.05.020 [Rules for determining residence of voter], adding
that declaring an intent to return allowed individuals to remain
Alaskan residents.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD opined that the "intent to return" needed
to be further defined. She requested the legal definition of
"intent to return."
MR. FLYNN directed Representative Allard to AS 15.05.020.
3:41:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY pointed out that the sponsor statement for
HB 129 criticized the Electronic Registration Information Center
(ERIC) system for not offering a 50-state comparison; however,
she shared her understanding a 50-state comparison was not
currently offered by any database. Further, the ERIC system
offered a 32-state data comparison, she said, which was the most
comprehensive this time.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE offered to follow up with the requested
information on the sponsor's preferred database.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY inquired about the cost of the ERIC system.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE deferred to DOE.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether there had been data breaches
in other systems.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE did not know the answer.
3:44:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked whether a voter could maintain a
status of "intent to return" and also have an undeliverable
mailing address on file.
MS. THOMPSON answered yes, a person could be in DOE's system
with an Alaska mailing address that was flagged as
undeliverable.
3:45:51 PM
CHAIR SHAW requested an overview of the fiscal note.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said she had not received a fiscal note at
this time.
CHAIR SHAW shared his understanding that a zero fiscal note
accompanied HB 129.
3:46:36 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:48:04 PM
CHAIR SHAW inquired about the zero fiscal note from DOE.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said the zero fiscal note, as provided by
DOE, referred to the voter registration list maintenance, which
would require no additional funding at this time.
3:48:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY shared her understanding that notices would
be sent to out-of-state voters for address confirmation,
suggesting that there should be an estimated cost for postage.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE shared her understanding that, per the zero
fiscal note, the cost could be absorbed by the division.
3:49:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked DOE to address the cost of out-
of-state communications.
3:49:58 PM
CAROL BEECHER, Director, DOE, explained that the division was
already sending out notices for voter list maintenance purposes
in addition to participating in the ERIC system. She
anticipated that the bill could be implemented at no cost to the
division.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether registered voter addresses
need to be residential, as opposed to commercial.
MS. BEECHER deferred to Ms. Thompson.
MS. THOMPSON said the division required an Alaska address.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether the address could be a
commercial address.
MS. THOMPSON deferred to Mr. Flynn.
MR. FLYNN explained that the Alaska Supreme Court had ruled PO
boxes insufficient. Generally, he said, the address should be a
residential address. He noted that if a person was without a
home, a description of one's place of residence would suffice.
He relayed that the division would not investigate whether an
address on file was commercial or residential.
3:52:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD observed that "intent of returning," as
addressed under AS 15.05.020, was open ended. She asked whether
an individual could leave the state for up to 20 years with the
intent of returning while voting as an Alaskan resident for that
time period. She asked for the legal definition of "intent of
returning" or "intent."
MR. FLYNN offered to follow up with the requested information.
He directed attention to paragraph 8 under AS 15.05.020, which
dictated that the address of a voter, as it appears on the
official voter registration record, was the presumptive evidence
of the person's voting residence.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD remarked, "That's not an answer."
3:54:09 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:54:29 PM
CHAIR SHAW invited Representative Vance to offer closing
remarks.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE, in response to Representative Story's
inquiry into the alternate voter data system, named the
Interstate Voter Registration [Crosscheck] (IVRC), which claimed
to have more than 30 state members. She said the database was
used similarly to the ERIC system for the purpose of
synchronizing voter lists.
3:55:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked what kind of information the [IRVC]
database used.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE referenced the supporting document titled,
"Best Practices for Achieving Integrity in Voter Registration,"
by the Public Interest Legal Foundation [included in the
committee packet]. She shared her understanding that the IRVC
utilized the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) registration,
voter registration address, last four digits of the social
security number, birth date, and voter history; further, she
indicated that the IRVC was less costly than the ERIC system.
She noted that the bill did not prohibit the use of the ERIC
system. Instead, it encouraged the use of additional data
systems to provide further accuracy.
3:57:13 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that that bill was held over.
HB 130-ELECTION INTERFERENCE, FRAUD, MISCONDUCT
3:57:16 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 130, "An Act relating to the crimes of unlawful
interference with an election, election fraud, and election
official misconduct; and providing for an effective date."
3:58:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, presented
HB 130, on behalf of the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
She provided the sponsor statement [included in the committee
packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
HB 130 enhances election security by codifying the
crime of unlawful interference of an election for
anyone who intentionally tampers with ballots or
machinery, creates the crime of election fraud, and
adds to the crime of election official misconduct for
sharing confidential election information.
This bill intends to restore public confidence in our
elections by providing accountability of bad actors
who seek to jeopardize the integrity of our elections
from ballot to the tabulator.
CHAIR SHAW inquired about the fiscal note for HB 130.
4:01:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE stated that a zero fiscal note from the
Department of Public Safety (DPS) accompanied the bill.
4:02:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked whether poll watchers were
considered election officials.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE shared her understanding that a voluntary
poll watcher would not be considered an election official. She
deferred to DOE for confirmation.
4:02:51 PM
MICHAELA THOMPSON, Administrative Operations Manager, DOE,
confirmed that poll watchers were not election officials.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER sought to confirm that poll watchers
would not fall under the statute, as they were not official
election workers.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE referred to Section 1 of HB 130,
speculating that a poll watcher may fall under AS 15.56.060
[Unlawful interference with an election].
4:05:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY referred to Section 3, paragraph (4) of the
bill and asked whether campaign workers would still be allowed
to request updated vote counts throughout the day if the bill
were to pass.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE answered yes, as the provision was
explicitly speaking to election results, returns, and
confidential election data.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY requested the definition of "confidential
election data."
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE deferred to DOE.
4:06:48 PM
MS. THOMPSON shared her understanding that confidential election
data included election results. She said in the context of HB
130, she was unsure what was encompassed by "confidential
election data."
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether HB 130 would prevent DOE from
sharing voter data with databases used to maintain the voter
registration list.
MS. THOMPSON did not know the answer.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY emphasized the importance of finding out
the answer.
MR. FLYNN indicated that "confidential election data" was not
defined in statute, adding that he was unsure what it would
entail. He observed that the language "before the polls close
on election day" in paragraph (4) was not time bound on the
close end and could be interpreted expansively.
4:09:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked why the bill increased the penalty
for election fraud from a class C felony to a class B felony.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE conveyed that committing election fraud
with the intent to change the outcome of the election could
impact the entire state; therefore, she believed that the
penalty should be heightened.
CHAIR SHAW announced that the bill was held over.
HB 131-VOTING MACHINES AND VOTE TALLY SYSTEMS
4:11:07 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 131, "An Act relating to voting machines and vote
tally systems; and providing for an effective date."
4:11:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, presented
HB 131 on behalf of House Judiciary Standing Committee. She
provided the sponsor statement [included in the committee
packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
HB 131 sets a standard for voting machines and vote
tally systems to be certified by the United States
Election Assistance Commission and use only open-
source software technology.
Open-source tabulators utilize software available to
the public that is used, modified, or distributed
freely, and is fully transparent. These tabulators use
commercial off-theshelf hardware that is mass produced
with commercially available hardware devices, making
it less appealing to hackers. Coupled with hard copy
paper ballots, open-source tabulators create the most
secure voting system to reconcile the numbers of
ballots cast when counting votes.
Currently, Alaska utilizes proprietary voting
tabulators that are not air-gapped. These tabulators
can connect to a modem and are suspected of remote
manipulation. Because of the proprietary and secret
nature of the voting tabulator, public confidence in
the accuracy of the count is at an all-time low. Real
or perceived, the current system has a reputation that
undermines confidence in our elections.
HB 132 seeks to build confidence in our elections with
open and transparent vote tally systems that can be
easily verified.
4:16:47 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
4:17:15 PM
MATT ROE, Head of Product, Voting Works, explained that Voting
Works was a non-partisan non-profit organization that built
election software. He stated that the goal of his testimony was
to briefly describe what open-source software was and how it
applied to election administration. He stated he would be
speaking from his experience implementing open-source software
but would not be speaking to the specifics of Voting Works
products. He explained that the "source" in open source referred
to source code, which was the set of instructions written by
programmers that a computer follows to achieve the desired
software's behavior. He used an example of source code, which he
described as "a complicated recipe for baking a cake," but
qualified that for most software the source code was kept secret
and available only to the original programmers. By contrast,
open-source software had source code that was always available
to anyone who wished to see it.
Mr. Roe continued his remarks. He asserted that much of the
software used today (including all major web browsers and much
of software that powered the internet) was open source. He
emphasized that the key benefit of open-source technology was
transparency. He cited that open-source software was used in
almost every industry, including scientific research, financial
services, and cybersecurity. He asserted that in the world of
election administration, especially when the country was
particularly polarized, open-source transparency provided a
common ground of facts that could be trusted and verified. He
described malicious code that changed votes as an example of a
problem that could be dispelled by a technical review of the
open-source code. He emphasized the importance of proper
security procedures, which should be transparent. He mentioned
the public accountability of election officials.
Mr. Roe wanted to discuss how open-source voting systems were
used in practice. He asserted that open-source voting systems
were used just like any other voting system, with well-
established practices for certifying, testing, and operating
voting equipment that would not change. He stated that the only
change introduced to the election process by open-source
software would be increased transparency and public confidence
in the election outcome. He opined that overall, SB 131
represented a commitment to increasing the transparency and
security of Alaskan elections through requiring open-source
software.
CHAIR SHAW invited questions from members of the committee.
4:23:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked whether the bill would require
the state to replace its [Dominion Voting Systems] machines with
open-source technology; alternatively, he questioned whether the
bill would require [Dominion Voting Systems] to make its
software open source.
4:24:07 PM
THOMAS FLYNN, Assistant Attorney General, DOL, surmised that
transitioning to open-source technology would be at the
discretion of Dominion Voting Systems, adding that the state
could not demand that implementation.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked whether the state would be
required to replace its Dominion Voting Systems machines with
open-source software should the bill pass.
4:25:08 PM
CAROL BEECHER, Director, DOE, answered yes, if enacted, DOE
would replace its voting tally system and voting machines.
4:25:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY inquired about the projected cost of
implementation.
CHAIR SHAW shared his understanding that a zero fiscal note from
DOE accompanied the bill.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked how replacing the voting machines and
tally system would impact the zero fiscal note.
MS. BEECHER clarified that the fiscal note reported an expense
of $4.6 million to implement the bill, which reflected four bids
from 2019.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked how Voting Works ensured system
security.
4:27:49 PM
MR. ROE explained that Voting Works technology had a variety of
checks in place to ensure that the system was only running the
software approved by both the vendor and the state;
additionally, the software implemented "secure boot" technology.
He reported that open-source software was shown to increase
security, as increased transparency encouraged secure software
development. He provided an analogy.
4:30:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether logic and accuracy testing
could be performed on an open-source system.
MS. BEECHER offered to follow up with the requested information.
MR. ROE answered yes, the state could continue to perform the
same logic and accuracy testing on open-source software. He
reiterated that open-source software would not change any of the
processes or experiences associated with voting equipment;
rather, it would increase the security and transparency of the
system.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY inquired about the cost to municipalities.
MS. BEECHER believed that there would be no cost to
municipalities. She deferred to Ms. Thompson for confirmation.
4:32:49 PM
MICHAELA THOMPSON, Administrative Operations Manager, DOE,
responded, "We no longer loan out our equipment to
municipalities, so this would not impact them."
4:33:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked when the current contract [with
Dominion Voting Systems] would expire.
MS. BEECHER offered to follow up with the requested information.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked whether there was an annual
maintenance agreement in the contract.
MS. BEECHER answered yes, stating that the original contract
awarded in 2019 specified five years of maintenance.
4:34:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked whether the contract would
include the clause "subject to appropriations."
MR. FLYNN offered to follow up with the requested information.
4:35:25 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that HB 131 was held over.
HB 132-ELECTIONS: BALLOT, VOTING, SECURITY
HB 129-VOTER REGISTRATION
HB 130-ELECTION INTERFERENCE, FRAUD, MISCONDUCT
HB 131-VOTING MACHINES AND VOTE TALLY SYSTEMS
4:37:44 PM
CHAIR SHAW announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 132, "An Act relating to election security,
voting, and ballots; and providing for an effective date" and
HOUSE BILL NO. 129, "An Act relating to voter registration; and
providing for an effective date" and HOUSE BILL NO. 130, "An Act
relating to the crimes of unlawful interference with an
election, election fraud, and election official misconduct; and
providing for an effective date" and HOUSE BILL NO. 131 "An Act
relating to voting machines and vote tally systems; and
providing for an effective date."
4:38:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, presented
HB 132 on behalf of the House Judiciary Standing Committee. She
provided the sponsor statement [included in the committee
packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
HB 132 has a voter focused approach that seeks to
increase public confidence in our elections with a
means to cure a ballot, enhance cybersecurity, and
implement an online multifactor authentication for
each voter to protect Alaskan's individual
information.
Protecting the foundation of our representative form
of government begins with protecting each ballot. This
bill establishes a strict chain of custody protocol
for ballots and tabulators from the printer to voter,
to disposal, complete with a unique security
identifier such as a barcode.
To help alleviate concerns of misconduct, this bill
enhances administrative procedure that brings
integrity to the process of handling ballots and
allows recruitment of a technical subject matter
expert to conduct a full forensic audit of voting
machines, tabulators, storage devices, and vote tally
systems.
HB 132 prioritizes Alaskan voters and the integrity of
their vote so every eligible vote counts!
4:39:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE directed attention to a PowerPoint
presentation, titled "HB 132 Elections; Ballot, Voting,
Security" [included in the committee packet]. She emphasized
the voter-focused aspects of the bill on slide 2, including:
ballot security, ballot chain of custody, ballot tracking
system, ballot curing, increased cybersecurity, and election
offense hotline.
4:40:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE addressed ballot security on slide 3, which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Security Identifier
• Paper Record
• Envelope-based Barcode
• Signed Ballot Chain-of-Custody Document
• Maintain Forensic Integrity of Ballots
4:40:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE continued to slide 4, titled "Ballot
Tracking System," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Online multi-factor authentication system like
used with your MyAlaska account.
• confirm the ballot was sent
• track ballot date of delivery
• confirm receipt of ballot
• determine review of voter's certificate
• determine if vote has been counted
• provide information to cure the ballot
• verify voter's identity
• indicate the process to cure a ballot or reason
• the vote was not counted
4:42:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE turned to slide 5, titled "Increased
Cybersecurity," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Develop a cybersecurity program to defend voter
registration records and provide cybersecurity
training for election officials.
4:42:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE detailed the election offense hotline on
slide 6, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
The director shall establish a toll free election
offense hotline to receive calls reporting election
offenses.
• Continuously staffed during absentee voting
hours, early voting, and 24 hours after polls
open.
• Election official available to respond to calls
• Offense hotline number placed in conspicuous
places.
4:43:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE concluded on slide 7, titled "Forensic
Audits," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Grants the Legislative Council the power to contract
with and appoint technical subject matter experts to
conduct full forensic audits of election data,
algorithms, software, and equipment, including
precinct tabulators, storage devices, voting machines,
and vote tally systems.
4:44:13 PM
CHAIR SHAW requested a brief explanation of the fiscal note from
DOE.
4:44:24 PM
CAROL BEECHER, Director, DOE, stated that the fiscal note
reflected the estimated costs incurred, such as non-permanent
election clerks; ballot printing; professional services for IT
consulting; software maintenance; forensic auditing; and ballot
tracking software.
4:45:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY requested the definition of a "full
forensic audit."
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE clarified that that the bill would grant
Legislative Council with the authority to find someone to
conduct the forensic audits pending further definition from the
legislature. She defined a forensic audit as "looking more at
any potential fraud and activity that would deal with a criminal
nature."
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether DOE could define "forensic
audit."
MS. BEECHER deferred to Mr. Flynn.
4:46:52 PM
THOMAS FLYNN, Assistant Attorney General, DOL, said he was not
aware of a statutory definition of "forensic audit."
REPRESENTATIVE STORY inquired about the credentials or
qualifications for those conducting a "forensic audit."
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE indicated that the legislature could
determine the subject matter expert for any activity deemed as
deserving of more insight.
4:47:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER shared his understanding that the
institutional knowledge of a "full forensic audit" was lacking
because the state had never conducted on before. He recommended
defining the parameters of a full "forensic audit" in statute.
4:49:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON inquired about the cost of ballot
printing.
MS. BEECHER deferred to Ms. Thompson.
MICHAELA THOMPSON, Administrative Operations Manager, DOE,
shared her understanding that adding a watermark would require
additional types of ballot printing paper.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked whether the fiscal note
reflected an estimate of costs or whether a request for
information (RFI) or request for proposal (RFP) had been issued.
MS. THOMPSON believed that the election program manager received
an estimate from the current ballot printer.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON expressed his interest in looking into
the accuracy of fiscal notes and how they're derived.
4:51:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked how the chain of custody proposed in
HB 132 would differ from existing chain of custody protocols.
MS. BEECHER deferred to Ms. Thompson.
MS. THOMPSON acknowledged that the division followed chain of
custody procedures in all aspects of the election process. She
further noted that the division had an existing portal that
allowed voters to track the receival of their ballot in addition
to processes for sending unused ballots back to the division and
tracking spoiled ballots used in the precinct.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked how the chain of [custody] worked
with the United States Postal Service (USPS).
MS. THOMPSON described the chain of custody.
4:54:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER requested an assessment from DOE
comparing existing chain of custody procedures to the ones
proposed in Section 2 HB 132. He suggested that existing chain
of custody procedures could stand to be updated.
4:55:23 PM
CHAIR SHAW opened public testimony on HB 132, HB 129, HB 130,
and HB 131.
4:55:38 PM
KAREN LEWIS, urged the legislature to return to a hand count
system, opining that all machines could be manipulated. She
read from a prepared statement.
4:59:10 PM
PAMELA SAMASH, Concerned Conservatives of Alaska, opined that
fair and honest elections were critical for a free society,
opining that these bills were an important step towards making
that possible. She urged the committee's support for HB 129, HB
130, HB 131, and HB 132.
5:00:26 PM
JOHN MILLER expressed his support for the bills presented during
the hearing "except for the machines." He offered several
suggestions for election security. He opined that the bills
were fundamental to ensuring that the people's voice was heard.
5:02:20 PM
GERALD VOSS expressed his support for HB 129, HB 130, HB 131,
and HB 132 and offered several suggestions for election
security.
5:04:13 PM
JOHN LETTOW expressed his support for the election bills
presented during the hearing, stating his support for
transitioning to a hand count.
5:05:43 PM
MIKE COONS, President, Concerned Conservatives of Alaska,
expressed support for HB 129, HB 130, HB 131, and HB 132 with
"one caveat."
5:07:27 PM
CHAIR SHAW stated that public testimony would be left open. He
announced that HB 132 was held over.
5:08:06 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
State Affairs Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at [5:08]
p.m.