CSHB 129(JUD): "An Act relating to voter registration; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 129(JUD) 01 "An Act relating to voter registration; and providing for an effective date." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 15.07.130(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) Periodically, at times of the director's choosing, but not [NO] less 05 frequently than in January of each calendar year, the director shall examine the master 06 register maintained under AS 15.07.120 and shall send, by forwardable 07 [NONFORWARDABLE] mail to the voter's registration mailing address, and to the 08 voter's electronic mail address, if available, a notice requesting address 09 confirmation or correction. The notice must explain that the voter's registration 10 will be inactivated unless the voter responds to the notice within 45 days after the 11 date the notice is sent. The director shall send the notice to each voter 12 (1) whose mail from the division has been returned to the division in 13 the two years immediately preceding the examination of the register; 14 (2) who has not contacted the division in the two years immediately 15 preceding the examination of the register and [; OR (3)] who has not voted or
01 appeared to vote in the two years [GENERAL ELECTIONS] immediately preceding 02 the examination of the register; or 03 (3) who, after registering to vote in this state and in the two years 04 immediately preceding the examination of the register, has 05 (A) registered to vote in another state; 06 (B) received a driver's license from another state; 07 (C) registered a vehicle in another state; 08 (D) served on a jury in another state; 09 (E) received benefits under a claim of residency in another 10 state, territory, or country; or 11 (F) established residence in another state, territory, or 12 country. 13 * Sec. 2. AS 15.07.130(b) is amended to read: 14 (b) If a registered voter does [HAS] not respond to a notice sent under (a) of 15 this section within 45 days after the date the notice is sent, the director shall 16 inactivate the voter's registration [, WITHIN THE PRECEDING FOUR 17 CALENDAR YEARS, CONTACTED THE DIVISION AND HAS NEITHER 18 VOTED NOR APPEARED TO VOTE IN A LOCAL, REGIONAL SCHOOL 19 BOARD, PRIMARY, SPECIAL, OR GENERAL ELECTION DURING THE LAST 20 FOUR CALENDAR YEARS AND A NOTICE SENT TO THE VOTER UNDER (a) 21 OF THIS SECTION WAS RETURNED AS UNDELIVERABLE, THE VOTER 22 SHALL BE ADVISED BY A NOTICE SENT BY FORWARDABLE MAIL TO THE 23 VOTER'S LAST KNOWN ADDRESS THAT REGISTRATION WILL BE 24 INACTIVATED UNLESS THE VOTER RESPONDS TO THE NOTICE NO 25 LATER THAN 45 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE NOTICE SENT UNDER 26 THIS SECTION]. The director shall maintain on the master register the name of a 27 voter whose registration is inactivated. The director shall cancel a voter's inactive 28 registration in accordance with the procedures set out in 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-6 (sec. 8, 29 National Voter Registration Act of 1993) after the second general election that occurs 30 after the registration becomes inactive if the voter does not contact the division or vote 31 or appear to vote.
01 * Sec. 3. AS 15.07.130(d) is amended to read: 02 (d) The notice sent under (a) [(b)] of this section must include a postage 03 prepaid and pre-addressed return card on which the voter may state the voter's current 04 address. The notice must indicate 05 (1) that the voter should return the card not later than 45 days after the 06 date of the notice if the voter did not change residence; 07 (2) that failure to return the card by the 45-day deadline could result in 08 removal of the voter's name from the official registration list for a subsequent election; 09 (3) that the voter's registration will be cancelled if the voter does not 10 contact the division during, or vote or appear to vote in an election held during, the 11 period beginning on the date of the notice and ending on the day after the last day of 12 the fourth calendar year that occurs after the date of notice; and 13 (4) how the voter can continue to be eligible to vote if the voter has 14 changed residence. 15 * Sec. 4. AS 15.07.130 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 16 (g) The division shall adopt regulations providing for regular review and 17 updates of the master register. The regulations must provide for review of the register 18 for data breaches, the number of registered voters compared to persons eligible to vote 19 in the state, and the names of deceased voters, persons convicted of a felony involving 20 moral turpitude, persons not qualified to vote under AS 15.05, and persons registered 21 to vote in another state. The regulations must specify records and databases for use in 22 reviewing the master register; the records and databases must include databases 23 sourced from governmental agencies outside the division, including the United States 24 Postal Service national change of address database, the database of permanent fund 25 dividend recipients, Alaska Court System databases, state motor vehicle records, 26 records of the state programs of corrections, property and sales tax records, records of 27 the federal social security system, municipal assessor databases, the United States 28 Social Security Administration death index, an alien database maintained by the 29 United States Department of Homeland Security, and jury duty records from other 30 jurisdictions. The director may compare the master register to state welfare and public 31 assistance agency databases to identify information relevant to registration to vote in
01 state elections, including address changes, deaths, and citizenship status, and shall 02 review the number of voters registered at each registration address to identify 03 anomalous registration totals. 04 (h) The director shall adopt a best practice voter registration system to 05 improve identity matching when comparing the master register with the records and 06 databases used to review the master register. The director shall develop a written 07 maintenance schedule and guideline manual for the system and provide a report on the 08 system to the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives on or 09 before the first day of the first regular session of each legislature and shall notify the 10 legislature that the report is available. 11 (i) The director shall, in a notice sent under (a) of this section, inform a voter 12 of the criteria to qualify as a voter and the penalties for voter misconduct. 13 * Sec. 5. AS 15.07 is amended by adding a new section to read: 14 Sec. 15.07.133. Process to cancel registration. The director shall develop a 15 process to allow a voter to cancel the voter's registration in person before an election 16 official or electronically. The director shall prominently display instructions for a 17 voter to cancel the voter's registration at each polling place. 18 * Sec. 6. AS 15.07.195 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 19 (e) Unless disclosure of information related to a data breach of information 20 made confidential by this section would compromise a criminal investigation, the 21 director shall, not less than 30 days after discovering the breach, publish notice of the 22 nature and severity of the breach on the division's Internet website and report the 23 details of the breach to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of 24 representatives. 25 * Sec. 7. This Act takes effect July 1, 2024.