00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 349(STA) 01 "An Act relating to elections, to the division of elections, and to voter 02 registration procedures; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 15.07.050 is amended to read: 05  Sec. 15.07.050.  MANNER OF REGISTRATION [IN PERSON OR BY 06 MAIL]. Registration may be made 07   (1) in person before a registration official or through a voter registration 08 agency; 09  (2) [, OR MAY BE MADE] by mail; or 10  (3) by facsimile transmission or another method of electronic 11 transmission that the director approves. 12 * Sec. 2. AS 15.07.060(a) is amended to read: 13  (a) Each applicant who requests registration or reregistration shall supply the 14 following information [UNDER OATH]: 01  (1) name and sex; 02  (2) address and other necessary information establishing residence, 03 including the term of residence in the state and in the district, if requested; 04  (3) whether the applicant has previously been registered to vote in 05 another jurisdiction, and, if so, the jurisdiction and the address of the previous 06 registration; 07  (4) a declaration that the registrant will be 18 years of age or older 08 within 90 days of the date or registration; 09  (5) a declaration that the registrant is a citizen of the United States; 10  (6) date of application; 11  (7) signature or mark; 12  (8) any former name under which the applicant was registered to 13 vote in the state; 14  (9) an attestation that the information provided by the applicant 15 in (1) - (8) of this subsection is true; and 16  (10) a certification that the applicant understands that a false 17 statement on the application may make the applicant subject to prosecution for 18 a misdemeanor under this title or AS 11. 19 * Sec. 3. AS 15.07.070(b) is amended to read: 20  (b) To register by mail or by facsimile or other electronic transmission 21 approved by the director under AS 15.07.050, the director, the area election 22 supervisor, or a voter registration agency shall furnish, at no cost to the voter, forms 23 prepared by the director on which the registration information required under 24 AS 15.07.060 shall be inserted by the voter, or by a person on behalf of the voter if 25 the voter is physically incapacitated. The director may require proof of identification 26 of the applicant as required by regulations adopted by the director under AS 44.62 ( 27 [THE] Administrative Procedure Act) [(AS 44.62)]. Upon receipt and approval of the 28 completed registration forms the director or the election supervisor shall forward to the 29 voter an acknowledgment in the form of a registration card, and the voter's name shall 30 immediately be placed on the master register located in the office of the director and 31 on the district register located in the office of the election supervisor. If the 01 registration is denied, the voter shall immediately be informed in writing that 02 registration was denied and the reason for denial. 03 * Sec. 4. AS 15.07.070(c) is amended to read: 04  (c) The names of persons submitting completed registration forms by mail that 05 are postmarked at least 30 days before the next election, or submitting completed 06 registration forms by facsimile or other electronic transmission approved by the 07 director under AS 15.07.050 that are received at least 30 days before the next 08 election, shall be placed on the official registration list for that election. If a 09 registration form received by mail less than 30 days before an election does not have 10 a legible and dated postmark, the name of the person submitting the form shall be 11 placed on the official registration list for that election if the form was signed and dated 12 by the person at least 30 days before the election and if the form is received by the 13 director or election supervisor at least 25 days before the election. The name of a 14 person submitting a completed registration form by mail or by facsimile or other 15 electronic transmission that does not meet the applicable requirements of this 16 subsection may not be placed on the official registration list for that election but shall 17 be placed on the master register after that election. 18 * Sec. 5. AS 15.07.070(f) is amended to read: 19  (f) Incomplete or inaccurate registration forms may not be accepted. A person 20 who submitted an incomplete or inaccurate registration form may register by 21 reexecuting and resubmitting a registration form in person, [OR] by mail, or by 22 facsimile or other electronic transmission approved by the director under 23 AS 15.07.050. The requirements of (c) or (d) of this section apply to a registration 24 form resubmitted under this subsection. 25 * Sec. 6. AS 15.07.070(h) is amended to read: 26  (h) The director shall design the form of the voter's certificate appearing on 27 the [LARGE] envelope that is used for voting a questioned ballot so that all 28 information required for registration by AS 15.07.060(a) may be obtained from a voter 29 who votes a questioned ballot. If the voter voting a questioned ballot has completed 30 all information on the voter registration portion of the questioned ballot voter's 31 certificate, the director shall place the name of the voter on the official registration list. 01 * Sec. 7. AS 15.07.130(b) is amended to read: 02  (b) When a registered voter has not indicated in writing a desire to remain 03 registered within the preceding four [TWO] calendar years and has neither [NOT] 04 voted nor appeared to vote in the last two general elections [A LOCAL, 05 REGIONAL SCHOOL BOARD, PRIMARY, SPECIAL, OR GENERAL ELECTION 06 AT LEAST ONCE IN TWO CONSECUTIVE CALENDAR YEARS], the voter shall 07 be advised by a notice sent by forwardable mail to the voter's last known address that 08 registration will be inactivated unless the voter responds to the notice at least 30 days 09 before the date of the next primary election on a form furnished by the director. The 10 director shall maintain on the master register the name of a voter whose registration 11 is inactivated. The director shall cancel a voter's inactive registration after the second 12 general election that occurs after the registration becomes inactive if the voter does not 13 vote or appear to vote [EITHER A QUESTIONED BALLOT OR AN ABSENTEE 14 BALLOT THAT IS COUNTED UNDER AS 15.15.198(b) AT OR BEFORE THAT 15 ELECTION]. 16 * Sec. 8. AS 15.07.130(d) is amended to read: 17  (d) The notice described in (b) of this section must include a postage prepaid 18 and pre-addressed return card on which the voter may state the voter's current address. 19 The notice must indicate 20  (1) that the voter should return the card not later than 30 days before 21 the next primary election if the voter did not change residence; 22  (2) that the voter may vote only a questioned or absentee ballot if the 23 voter does not return the card at least 30 days before the next primary election; 24  (3) that the voter's registration will be cancelled if the voter does not 25 vote or appear to vote in an election held during the period beginning on the date of 26 the notice and ending on the day after the date of the second general election that 27 occurs after the date of notice; and 28  (4) how the voter can continue to be eligible to vote if the voter has 29 changed residence. 30 * Sec. 9. AS 15.07.190 is amended to read: 31  Sec. 15.07.190. VIOLATIONS. A person who violates AS 15.07.180 01 [AS 15.07.170 OR 15.07.180] is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is 02 punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than 03 $1,000, or by both. 04 * Sec. 10. AS 15.10.110 is amended to read: 05  Sec. 15.10.110. APPOINTMENT OF ELECTION SUPERVISORS. The 06 director shall appoint election supervisors, including one in each of the municipalities 07 of Juneau, Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Nome, to assist in the administration of elections 08 in the election districts designated by the director. The director may appoint as an 09 election supervisor a person who is a qualified voter in the area over which the person 10 has jurisdiction and who meets the applicable requirements of AS 15.10.105(b) 11 [DOES NOT HOLD AN OFFICE IN A POLITICAL PARTY]. An election supervisor 12 is entitled to receive compensation in an amount that is comparable to that received 13 for similar state employment as determined by the director. 14 * Sec. 11. AS 15.15.030(5) is amended to read: 15  (5) The state general election ballot shall be printed on white paper 16 with the names of the candidates and their party designations placed in separate 17 sections under the office designation to which they were nominated. The party 18 affiliation, if any, shall be designated after the name of the candidate. The lieutenant 19 governor and the governor shall be included under the same section. Provision shall 20 be made for voting for write-in and no-party candidates within each section. [THE 21 SQUARES APPEARING ON THE BALLOTS SHALL MEASURE 1/4 INCH ON 22 EACH SIDE.] 23 * Sec. 12. AS 15.15.140(a) is amended to read: 24  (a) If the election board receives an insufficient number of official [PAPER 25 BALLOTS, OFFICIAL PUNCH-CARD] ballots [,] or official election materials, it 26 shall provide and the voters may use unmarked substitute ballots or other election 27 materials to indicate the intent of the voter. 28 * Sec. 13. AS 15.15.198(b) is amended to read: 29  (b) A person whose registration is inactive under AS 15.07.130(b) and who 30 votes a questioned or absentee ballot shall have the ballot counted if 31  (1) the person was registered to vote for either of the two most recent 01 general elections; 02  (2) the person signs [UNDER OATH] a statement to that effect; and 03  (3) the earlier registration is verified by the director. 04 * Sec. 14. AS 15.15.210 is amended to read: 05  Sec. 15.15.210. QUESTIONING OF VOTERS OF SUSPECT 06 QUALIFICATION. Every election judge and election clerk shall question, and every 07 watcher and any other person qualified to vote in the precinct may question a person 08 attempting to vote if the questioner has good reason to suspect that the questioned 09 person is not qualified to vote. All questions regarding a person's qualifications to 10 vote shall be made in writing setting out the reason the person has been questioned. 11 A questioned person before voting shall subscribe to a declaration [AN OATH OR 12 AFFIRMATION] in a form provided by the director attesting to the fact that in each 13 particular the person meets all the qualifications of a voter, is not disqualified, and has 14 not voted at the same election, and certifying that the person understands that a 15 false statement on the declaration may subject the person to prosecution for a 16 misdemeanor under this title or AS 11. The questioned person shall also state the 17 place from which that person came immediately before living in the precinct where 18 offering to vote and the length of time of residence in the former place. After the 19 questioned person has executed the declaration [OATH OR AFFIRMATION], the 20 person may vote. If the questioned person refuses to execute the declaration [OATH 21 OR AFFIRMATION], the person may not vote. 22 * Sec. 15. AS 15.15.215(a) is amended to read: 23  (a) A voter who casts a questioned ballot shall vote the ballot in the same 24 manner as prescribed for other voters.  The [AFTER THE ELECTION JUDGE 25 REMOVES THE NUMBERED STUB FROM THE BALLOT, THE] voter shall insert 26 the ballot into a secrecy sleeve, the election judge shall remove the numbered stub 27 from the ballot, and the voter shall [SMALL ENVELOPE AND] put the secrecy 28 sleeve [SMALL ENVELOPE] into an [A LARGER] envelope on which the statement 29 the voter previously signed is located.  The envelope [THESE LARGER 30 ENVELOPES] shall be sealed and deposited in the ballot box. When the ballot box 31 is opened, the [THESE] envelopes shall be segregated, counted, compared to the 01 voting list, and delivered to the official or body supervising the election. The merits 02 of the question shall be determined by this official or body in accordance with the 03 procedure prescribed for questioned votes in AS 15.20.207. 04 * Sec. 16. AS 15.15.440 is amended to read: 05  Sec. 15.15.440. DATES FOR OPENING AND CLOSING STATE BALLOT 06 COUNTING REVIEW. The state ballot counting review shall begin no earlier 07 [LATER] than 11 days after an [THE] election and no later than 16 days after an 08 election, and shall be continued [DAILY] until completed. The director may designate 09 the hours each day during which the state ballot counting review board is to conduct 10 its ballot counting review. The director shall close the review when the director is 11 satisfied that no missing precinct certificate of election would, if received, change the 12 result of the election. If no election certificate has been received from a precinct, the 13 director may secure from the election supervisors and may count a certified copy of 14 the duplicate election certificate of the precinct. If no election materials have been 15 received, but election results have been received by telephone, telegram or radio, the 16 director shall count the election results so received. If the director has reason to 17 believe that a missing precinct certificate, if received, would affect the result of the 18 election, the director shall await the receipt of the certificate until the close of business 19 on the 15th day after the date of election. A certificate not actually delivered to the 20 director by the close of business on the 15th day after the election may not be counted 21 at the state ballot counting review. 22 * Sec. 17. AS 15.20.010 is repealed and reenacted to read: 23  Sec. 15.20.010. PERSONS WHO MAY VOTE ABSENTEE. At any election 24 a qualified voter may vote an absentee ballot for any reason. 25 * Sec. 18. AS 15.20.030 is amended to read: 26  Sec. 15.20.030. PREPARATION OF BALLOTS, ENVELOPES, AND OTHER 27 MATERIAL. The director shall provide ballots for use as absentee ballots in all 28 districts. The director shall provide a secrecy sleeve [SMALL ENVELOPE] in which 29 the voter shall initially place the marked ballot, and shall provide an [A LARGER] 30 envelope [,] with the prescribed voter's certificate on it [THE BACK], in which the 31 secrecy sleeve [SMALL ENVELOPE] with ballot enclosed shall be placed. The 01 director shall prescribe the form of and prepare the voter's certificate, envelopes, and 02 other material used in absentee voting. The voter's certificate shall include an oath, 03 for use when required, that the voter is a qualified voter in all respects, a blank for the 04 voter's signature, a certification that the affiant properly executed the marking of the 05 ballot and gave the voter's identity, blanks for the attesting official or witnesses, and 06 a place for recording the date the envelope was sealed and witnessed. 07 * Sec. 19. AS 15.20.061(c) is amended to read: 08  (c) On receipt of an absentee ballot in person, the voter shall proceed to mark 09 the ballot in secret, to place the ballot in the secrecy sleeve [SMALL ENVELOPE], 10 to place the secrecy sleeve [SMALL ENVELOPE] in the [LARGER] envelope 11 provided, and to sign the voter's certificate on the [BACK OF THE LARGER] 12 envelope in the presence of the election official who shall sign as attesting official and 13 date that signature. The election official shall then accept the ballot. 14 * Sec. 20. AS 15.20.081(d) is amended to read: 15  (d) Upon receipt of an absentee ballot by mail, the voter, in the presence of 16 a notary public, commissioned officer of the armed forces including the National 17 Guard, district judge or magistrate, United States postal official, registration official, 18 or other person qualified to administer oaths, may proceed to mark the ballot in secret, 19 to place the ballot in the secrecy sleeve [SMALL ENVELOPE], to place the secrecy 20 sleeve [SMALL ENVELOPE] in the [LARGER] envelope provided, and to sign the 21 voter's certificate on the [BACK OF THE LARGER] envelope in the presence of an 22 official listed in this subsection who shall sign as attesting official and shall date the 23 signature. If none of the officials listed in this subsection is reasonably accessible, an 24 absentee voter shall sign the voter's certificate in the presence of two persons over the 25 age of 18 years, who shall sign as witnesses and attest to the date on which the voter 26 signed the certificate in their presence, and, in addition, the voter shall provide the 27 certification prescribed in AS 09.63.020. 28 * Sec. 21. AS 15.20.190(a) is amended to read: 29  (a) Thirty days before [PRIOR TO] the date of an election, the election 30 supervisors shall appoint, in the same manner provided for the appointment of election 31 judges prescribed in AS 15.10.150, district absentee ballot counting boards and district 01 questioned ballot counting boards, each composed of at least four members. At least 02 one member of each board must be a member of the same political party of which 03 the governor is a member, and at least one member of each board must be a 04 member of the political party whose candidate for governor received the second 05 largest number of votes in the preceding gubernatorial election [, TWO FROM 06 EACH POLITICAL PARTY]. The district boards shall assist the election supervisors 07 in counting the absentee and questioned ballots and shall receive the same 08 compensation paid election judges under AS 15.15.380. 09 * Sec. 22. AS 15.20.201(b) is amended to read: 10  (b) Counting of absentee ballots that [WHICH] have been reviewed shall 11 begin at 8:00 p.m., local time, on the day of the election at places designated by each 12 election supervisor and shall continue until all absentee ballots reviewed and eligible 13 for counting have been counted. The counting teams shall report the count of absentee 14 ballots to the district absentee ballot counting board. An election supervisor or an 15 election official may not count [REMOVE] absentee ballots [FROM THE SMALL, 16 INNER ENVELOPES] before 8:00 p.m., local time, on the day of the election. 17 Counting of the absentee ballots shall continue at times designated by the election 18 supervisor until all absentee ballots are counted. 19 * Sec. 23. AS 15.20.203(c) is amended to read: 20  (c) Any person present at the district absentee ballot counting review may 21 challenge the name of an absentee voter when read from the voter's certificate on the 22 [BACK OF THE LARGE] envelope if the person has good reason to suspect that the 23 challenged voter is not qualified to vote, is disqualified, or has voted at the same 24 election. The person making the challenge shall specify the basis of the challenge in 25 writing. The district absentee ballot counting board by majority vote may refuse to 26 accept and count the absentee ballot of a person properly challenged on grounds listed 27 in (b) of this section. 28 * Sec. 24. AS 15.20.203(e) is amended to read: 29  (e) If an absentee ballot is not rejected, the [LARGE] envelope shall be opened 30 and the secrecy sleeve [SMALL ENVELOPE] containing the absentee ballot shall be 31 placed in a container and mixed with other secrecy sleeves [SMALL ENVELOPES]. 01 * Sec. 25. AS 15.20.203(f) is amended to read: 02  (f) The secrecy sleeves [SMALL ENVELOPES] shall be drawn from the 03 container, the absentee ballots shall be removed from the secrecy sleeves 04 [OPENED], and the absentee ballots counted at the times specified in AS 15.20.201 05 and according to the rules for determining properly marked ballots in AS 15.15.360. 06 * Sec. 26. AS 15.20.207(c) is amended to read: 07  (c) Any person present at the district questioned ballot review may challenge 08 the name of a questioned voter when read from the voter's certificate on the [BACK 09 OF THE LARGE] envelope if the person has good reason to suspect that the 10 questioned voter is not qualified to vote, is disqualified, or has voted at the same 11 election. The person making the challenge shall specify the basis of the challenge in 12 writing. The district questioned ballot counting board by majority vote may refuse to 13 accept and count the questioned ballot of a person properly challenged under grounds 14 listed in (b) of this section. 15 * Sec. 27. AS 15.20.207(e) is amended to read: 16  (e) If a questioned ballot is not rejected, the [LARGE] envelope shall be 17 opened and the secrecy sleeve [SMALL ENVELOPE] containing the questioned ballot 18 shall be placed in a container and mixed with other secrecy sleeves [SMALL 19 ENVELOPES] containing questioned ballots. 20 * Sec. 28. AS 15.20.207(f) is amended to read: 21  (f) The secrecy sleeves [SMALL ENVELOPES] shall be drawn from the 22 container, the questioned ballots shall be removed from the secrecy sleeves 23 [OPENED], and the questioned ballots counted at the times specified in AS 15.20.205 24 and according to the rules for determining properly marked ballots in AS 15.15.360. 25 * Sec. 29. AS 15.20.207(g) is amended to read: 26  (g) Upon completion of the questioned ballot review, the election supervisor 27 shall prepare an election certificate for execution by the district questioned ballot 28 counting board, and shall forward the original certificate and returns to the director as 29 soon as the count is completed but no later than the 11th [NINTH] day following the 30 election. 31 * Sec. 30. AS 15.20.620(c) is amended to read: 01  (c) As a security precaution, after the computer has been tested as prescribed 02 in (b)(2) and (4) of this section, 03  (1) the vote-counting task shall remain isolated from nonrelated 04 processing tasks; 05  (2) [PROCESSING NOT CONCERNED WITH VOTE COUNTING 06 SHALL BE LIMITED TO TASKS WHICH ARE CRITICAL TO THE COMPUTER 07 CENTER AND SHALL BE AGREED UPON IN ADVANCE BY THE MANAGER 08 OF THE COMPUTER CENTER AND THE DIRECTOR; 09  (3)] reasonable computer security controls shall be in effect to assure 10 the integrity of the vote-counting process; and 11   (3) [(4)] access to the computer counting area shall be controlled by the 12 data processing review board until the vote-counting process is terminated. 13 * Sec. 31. AS 15.20.620(f) is amended to read: 14  (f) At any time during the count, party representatives or members of the data 15 processing review board may request a listing of the parameter coding that 16 [PROGRAM SOURCE CODE WHICH] comprises the instructions to be executed by 17 the computer. 18 * Sec. 32. AS 15.20.640(a) is amended to read: 19  (a) Immediately after the polls have closed, the ballot box shall be opened by 20 election board members in full view of all persons present, and all ballots shall be 21 removed [FROM THE BALLOT ENVELOPES]. 22 * Sec. 33. AS 15.20.700(c) is amended to read: 23  (c) The backup documentation for each counting session [BALLOT IMAGE 24 MAGNETIC TAPE WHICH CONTAINS AN EXACT IMAGE OF EACH COUNTED 25 BALLOT] shall be retained in a secure manner by the election supervisor until the 26 director determines that it is no longer needed. 27 * Sec. 34. AS 15.20.740 is amended to read: 28  Sec. 15.20.740. QUESTIONED PUNCH-CARD BALLOTS. The procedure 29 for reviewing and counting questioned punch-card ballots is the same procedure 30 established in AS 15.20.205 and 15.20.207 for hand-marked ballots except that 31 questioned punch-card ballots may be processed by the computer from the third 01 through the 10th [EIGHTH] day following the election. The data processing review 02 board shall supervise the count and shall follow the procedure established in 03 AS 15.20.680 and 15.20.685. 04 * Sec. 35. AS 15.20.800(d) is amended to read: 05  (d) The voter may cast the ballot under AS 15.20.081(d) - (f) 06 [AS 15.20.081(d) - (e)]. 07 * Sec. 36. AS 15.58.060(a) is amended to read: 08  (a) Each general election candidate shall pay to the lieutenant governor at the 09 time of filing material under this chapter the following: 10  (1) President or Vice-President of the United States, United States 11 senator, United States representative, governor, lieutenant governor, supreme court 12 justice and court of appeals judge, $300 [$150] each; 13  (2) superior court judge and district court judge, $150 [$75] each; 14  (3) state senator and state representative, $100 [$50] each. 15 * Sec. 37. AS 15.58.060(b) is amended to read: 16  (b) The state chair [CHAIRMAN] or executive committee of a political party 17 shall pay to the lieutenant governor at the time of filing material under this chapter 18 $600 [$300] for each page purchased. 19 * Sec. 38. AS 15.05.040 and AS 15.07.170 are repealed. 20 * Sec. 39. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).