SCS CSHB 129(STA): "An Act relating to elections; relating to voters; relating to voting; relating to voter registration; relating to disclosure of election-related deepfakes; relating to a legal fund to pay attorney fees and costs in an election contest; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 129(STA) 01 "An Act relating to elections; relating to voters; relating to voting; relating to voter 02 registration; relating to disclosure of election-related deepfakes; relating to a legal fund 03 to pay attorney fees and costs in an election contest; and providing for an effective 04 date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 15.05.010 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 15.05.010. Voter qualification. A person may vote at any election who 08 (1) is a citizen of the United States; 09 (2) is 18 years of age or older; 10 (3) has been a resident of the state and of the house district in which 11 the person seeks to vote for at least 30 days just before the election; and 12 (4) has registered [BEFORE THE ELECTION] as required under 13 AS 15.07 and is not registered to vote in another jurisdiction. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 15.07.060 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
01 (g) An applicant who requests registration within 30 days before an election 02 shall supply a declaration stating whether the applicant established residency at least 03 30 days before the date of the election in 04 (1) the state; 05 (2) the house district in which the applicant seeks to vote at the 06 election. 07 * Sec. 3. AS 15.07.070(c) is amended to read: 08 (c) The names of persons submitting completed registration forms by mail that 09 are postmarked at least 30 days before the next election, or submitting completed 10 registration forms by facsimile or other electronic transmission approved by the 11 director under AS 15.07.050 that are received at least 30 days before the next election, 12 shall be placed on the official registration list for that election. If a registration form 13 received by mail less than 30 days before an election does not have a legible and dated 14 postmark, the name of the person submitting the form shall be placed on the official 15 registration list for that election if the form was signed and dated by the person at least 16 30 days before the election and if the form is received by the director or election 17 supervisor at least 25 days before the election. The name of a person submitting a 18 completed registration form by mail or by facsimile or other electronic transmission 19 that does not meet the applicable requirements of this subsection may not be placed on 20 the official registration list for that election but shall be placed on the master register 21 after that election. A person submitting a completed registration form that does 22 not meet the requirements of this subsection for placement on the master register 23 for the next election but who complies with AS 15.07.060(g) may vote an 24 absentee, special needs, or questioned ballot at that election. 25 * Sec. 4. AS 15.07.070(d) is amended to read: 26 (d) Qualified voters may register in person before a registration official or 27 through a voter registration agency at any time throughout the year. A qualified voter 28 who registers [, EXCEPT THAT A PERSON REGISTERING] within 30 days before 29 or on the day of an election may vote only an absentee, special needs, or 30 questioned ballot [PRECEDING AN ELECTION IS NOT ELIGIBLE TO VOTE] at 31 that election. The division may not reject the absentee, special needs, or
01 questioned ballot of a qualified voter who registers within 30 days before or on 02 the day of an election on the grounds that the voter is not on the official 03 registration list for the election. Upon receipt and approval of the registration forms, 04 the director or the election supervisor shall forward to the voter an acknowledgment in 05 the form of a registration card, and the voter's name shall immediately be placed on 06 the master register. Names of persons registering 30 or more days before an election 07 shall be placed on the official registration list for that election. 08 * Sec. 5. AS 15.07.090(b) is amended to read: 09 (b) A voter shall reregister if the voter's registration is cancelled as provided in 10 AS 15.07.130. A person reregistering under this subsection may vote only an 11 absentee, special needs, or questioned ballot until [THE REREGISTRATION IS 12 EFFECTIVE FOR] the next election that occurs at least 30 days after the date of 13 reregistration. The division may not reject the absentee, special needs, or 14 questioned ballot of a qualified voter who reregisters within 30 days before or on 15 the day of an election on the grounds that the voter is not on the official 16 registration list for the election. 17 * Sec. 6. AS 15.07.090(c) is amended to read: 18 (c) The director shall transfer the registration of a voter from one precinct to 19 another within a house district when requested by the voter. If a [THE] request is 20 [SHALL BE] made within 30 [OR MORE] days before [THE] election day or on 21 election day, a person transferring registration to a new precinct may vote only 22 an absentee, special needs, or questioned ballot. The division may not reject the 23 absentee, special needs, or questioned ballot of a qualified voter who transfers 24 registration within 30 days before or on the day of an election on the grounds 25 that the voter is not on the official registration list for the election. The director 26 shall transfer the registration of a voter from one house district to another when 27 requested by the voter. The voter must reside in the new house district for at least 30 28 days in order to vote a ballot for that district. 29 * Sec. 7. AS 15.07.090(d) is amended to read: 30 (d) A person who claims to be a registered voter, but for whom no evidence of 31 registration in the precinct can be found, may vote only an absentee, special needs,
01 or questioned ballot. The division may not reject the absentee, special needs, or 02 questioned ballot of a qualified voter who registers within 30 days before or on 03 the day of an election on the grounds that the voter is not on the official 04 registration list for the election [SHALL BE GRANTED THE RIGHT TO VOTE 05 IN THE SAME MANNER AS THAT OF A QUESTIONED VOTER AND THE 06 BALLOT SHALL BE TREATED IN THE SAME MANNER. THE BALLOT 07 SHALL BE CONSIDERED TO BE A "QUESTIONED BALLOT" AND SHALL BE 08 SO DESIGNATED. THE DIRECTOR OR THE DIRECTOR'S REPRESENTATIVE 09 SHALL DETERMINE WHETHER THE VOTER IS REGISTERED IN THE HOUSE 10 DISTRICT BEFORE COUNTING THE BALLOT. A VOTER WHO HAS FAILED 11 TO OBTAIN A TRANSFER AS PROVIDED IN (c) OF THIS SECTION SHALL 12 VOTE A "QUESTIONED BALLOT" IN THE PRECINCT IN WHICH THE VOTER 13 RESIDES]. 14 * Sec. 8. AS 15.07.130(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) Periodically, at times of the director's choosing, but not [NO] less 16 frequently than in January of each calendar year, the director shall examine the master 17 register maintained under AS 15.07.120 and shall send, by forwardable 18 [NONFORWARDABLE] mail to the voter's registration mailing address, and to the 19 voter's electronic mail address, if available, a notice requesting address 20 confirmation or correction. The notice must explain that the voter's registration 21 will be inactivated unless the voter responds to the notice within 45 days after the 22 date the notice is sent. The director shall send the notice to each voter 23 (1) whose mail from the division has been returned to the division in 24 the two years immediately preceding the examination of the register; 25 (2) who has not contacted the division in the two years immediately 26 preceding the examination of the register and [; OR (3)] who has not voted or 27 appeared to vote in the two years [GENERAL ELECTIONS] immediately preceding 28 the examination of the register; or 29 (3) who, after registering to vote in this state and in the two years 30 immediately preceding the examination of the register, has 31 (A) registered to vote in another state;
01 (B) received a driver's license from another state; 02 (C) served on a jury in another state; 03 (D) received benefits under a claim of residency in another 04 state, territory, or country; or 05 (E) established residence in another state, territory, or 06 country. 07 * Sec. 9. AS 15.07.130(b) is amended to read: 08 (b) If a registered voter does [HAS] not respond to a notice sent under (a) of 09 this section within 45 days after the date the notice is sent, the director shall 10 inactivate the voter's registration [, WITHIN THE PRECEDING FOUR 11 CALENDAR YEARS, CONTACTED THE DIVISION AND HAS NEITHER 12 VOTED NOR APPEARED TO VOTE IN A LOCAL, REGIONAL SCHOOL 13 BOARD, PRIMARY, SPECIAL, OR GENERAL ELECTION DURING THE LAST 14 FOUR CALENDAR YEARS AND A NOTICE SENT TO THE VOTER UNDER (a) 15 OF THIS SECTION WAS RETURNED AS UNDELIVERABLE, THE VOTER 16 SHALL BE ADVISED BY A NOTICE SENT BY FORWARDABLE MAIL TO THE 17 VOTER'S LAST KNOWN ADDRESS THAT REGISTRATION WILL BE 18 INACTIVATED UNLESS THE VOTER RESPONDS TO THE NOTICE NO 19 LATER THAN 45 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE NOTICE SENT UNDER 20 THIS SECTION]. The director shall maintain on the master register the name of a 21 voter whose registration is inactivated. The director shall cancel a voter's inactive 22 registration in accordance with the procedures set out in 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-6 (sec. 8, 23 National Voter Registration Act of 1993) after the second general election that occurs 24 after the registration becomes inactive if the voter does not contact the division or vote 25 or appear to vote. 26 * Sec. 10. AS 15.07.130(d) is amended to read: 27 (d) The notice sent under (a) [(b)] of this section must include a postage 28 prepaid and pre-addressed return card on which the voter may state the voter's current 29 address. The notice must indicate 30 (1) that the voter should return the card not later than 45 days after the 31 date of the notice if the voter did not change residence;
01 (2) that failure to return the card by the 45-day deadline could result in 02 removal of the voter's name from the official registration list for a subsequent election; 03 (3) that the voter's registration will be cancelled if the voter does not 04 contact the division during, or vote or appear to vote in an election held during, the 05 period beginning on the date of the notice and ending on the day after the last day of 06 the fourth calendar year that occurs after the date of notice; and 07 (4) how the voter can continue to be eligible to vote if the voter has 08 changed residence. 09 * Sec. 11. AS 15.07.130 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 10 (g) The division shall adopt regulations providing for regular review and 11 updates of the master register. The regulations must provide for review of the register 12 for data breaches, the number of registered voters compared to persons eligible to vote 13 in the state, and the names of deceased voters, persons convicted of a felony involving 14 moral turpitude, persons not qualified to vote under AS 15.05, and persons registered 15 to vote in another state. The regulations must specify records and databases for use in 16 reviewing the master register; the records and databases must include databases 17 sourced from governmental agencies outside the division, including the United States 18 Postal Service national change of address database, the database of permanent fund 19 dividend recipients, Alaska Court System databases, state motor vehicle records, 20 records of the state programs of corrections, property and sales tax records, records of 21 the federal social security system, municipal assessor databases, the United States 22 Social Security Administration death index, an alien database maintained by the 23 United States Department of Homeland Security, and jury duty records from other 24 jurisdictions. The director may compare the master register to state welfare and public 25 assistance agency databases to identify information relevant to registration to vote in 26 state elections, including address changes, deaths, and citizenship status, and shall 27 review the number of voters registered at each registration address to identify 28 anomalous registration totals. 29 (h) The director shall adopt a best practice voter registration system to 30 improve identity matching when comparing the master register with the records and 31 databases used to review the master register. The director shall develop a written
01 maintenance schedule and guideline manual for the system and provide a report on the 02 system to the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives on or 03 before the first day of the first regular session of each legislature and shall notify the 04 legislature that the report is available. 05 (i) The director shall, in a notice sent under (a) of this section, inform a voter 06 of the criteria to qualify as a voter and the penalties for voter misconduct. 07 * Sec. 12. AS 15.07 is amended by adding a new section to read: 08 Sec. 15.07.133. Process to cancel registration. The director shall develop a 09 process to allow a voter to cancel the voter's registration in person before an election 10 official or electronically. The director shall prominently display instructions for a 11 voter to cancel the voter's registration at each polling place. 12 * Sec. 13. AS 15.07.195 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (e) Unless disclosure of information related to a data breach of information 14 made confidential by this section would compromise a criminal investigation, the 15 director shall, not less than 30 days after discovering the breach, publish notice of the 16 nature and severity of the breach on the division's Internet website and report the 17 details of the breach to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of 18 representatives. 19 * Sec. 14. AS 15.13.116(a) is amended to read: 20 (a) A candidate who, after the date of the general, special, municipal, or 21 municipal runoff election or after the date the candidate withdraws as a candidate, 22 whichever comes first, holds unused campaign contributions shall distribute the 23 amount held on February 1 for a general election or within 90 days after a special 24 election. The distribution may only be made to 25 (1) pay bills incurred for expenditures reasonably related to the 26 campaign and the winding up of the affairs of the campaign, including a victory or 27 thank you party, thank you advertisements, and thank you gifts to campaign 28 employees and volunteers, and to pay expenditures associated with post-election fund 29 raising that may be needed to raise funds to pay off campaign debts; 30 (2) make donations, without condition, to 31 (A) a political party;
01 (B) the state's general fund; 02 (C) a municipality of the state; or 03 (D) the federal government; 04 (3) make donations, without condition, to organizations qualified as 05 charitable organizations under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) if the organization is not controlled 06 by the candidate or a member of the candidate's immediate family; 07 (4) repay loans from the candidate to the candidate's own campaign 08 under AS 15.13.078(b); 09 (5) repay contributions to contributors, but only if repayment of the 10 contribution is made pro rata in approximate proportion to the contributions made 11 using one of the following, as the candidate determines: 12 (A) to all contributors; 13 (B) to contributors who have contributed most recently; or 14 (C) to contributors who have made larger contributions; 15 (6) a legal fund established under AS 24.60.111 [ESTABLISH A 16 FUND FOR, AND FROM THAT FUND TO PAY, ATTORNEY FEES OR COSTS 17 INCURRED IN THE PROSECUTION OR DEFENSE OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE 18 OR CIVIL JUDICIAL ACTION THAT DIRECTLY CONCERNS A CHALLENGE 19 TO THE VICTORY OR DEFEAT OF THE CANDIDATE IN THE ELECTION]; 20 (7) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to an 21 account for a future election campaign; a transfer under this paragraph is limited to 22 (A) $50,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for governor 23 or lieutenant governor; 24 (B) $10,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for the state 25 senate; 26 (C) $5,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for the state 27 house of representatives; and 28 (D) $5,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for an office 29 not described in (A) - (C) of this paragraph; 30 (8) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to a 31 public office expense term account; a transfer under this paragraph is subject to the
01 following: 02 (A) the authority to transfer is limited to candidates who are 03 elected to the state legislature; 04 (B) the public office expense term account established under 05 this paragraph may be used only for expenses associated with the candidate's 06 serving as a member of the legislature; 07 (C) all amounts expended from the public office expense term 08 account shall be annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4); 09 (D) a transfer under this paragraph is limited to $5,000 10 multiplied by the number of years in the term to which the candidate is elected 11 plus any accumulated interest; and 12 (E) unused campaign contributions transferred under this 13 paragraph must be disposed of as provided in (2), (3), or (5) of this subsection 14 at the end of the term of office immediately following the campaign for which 15 the contributions were received; and 16 (9) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to a 17 municipal office account; a transfer under this paragraph is subject to the following: 18 (A) the authority to transfer is limited to candidates who are 19 elected to municipal office, including a municipal school board; 20 (B) the municipal office account established under this 21 paragraph may be used only for expenses associated with the candidate's 22 serving as mayor or as a member of the assembly, city council, or school 23 board; 24 (C) all amounts expended from the municipal office account 25 shall be annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4); 26 (D) a transfer under this paragraph is limited to $5,000; and 27 (E) unused campaign contributions transferred under this 28 paragraph must be disposed of as provided in (2), (3), or (5) of this subsection 29 at the end of the term of office immediately following the campaign for which 30 the contributions were received. 31 * Sec. 15. AS 15.15 is amended by adding a new section to read:
01 Sec. 15.15.455. Risk-limiting audits. (a) In addition to the ballot counting 02 review conducted under AS 15.15.420 - 15.15.440, after each state election but before 03 the certification of the ballot counting review under AS 15.15.450, the director shall 04 conduct a risk-limiting audit of selected election results. The audit must be designed 05 using statistical methods to limit the risk of certification of an election result that is 06 inconsistent with the result that would be obtained by conducting a recount. 07 (b) The director shall adopt regulations necessary to implement and administer 08 (a) of this section. The regulations must include a procedure for selecting which 09 election results to audit and for notifying a candidate in a race subject to a risk-limiting 10 audit of the audit. In adopting regulations under this subsection, the director shall 11 consult recognized statistical experts, equipment vendors, and municipal clerks and 12 shall consider best practices for conducting risk-limiting audits. 13 (c) A candidate and an organization or organized group that sponsors or 14 opposes a ballot proposition or question seeking to protect the direct interests of the 15 candidate, organization, or organized group during a risk-limiting audit may provide, 16 at the candidate's, organization's, or organized group's own expense, one or more 17 observers to witness the audit. 18 * Sec. 16. AS 15.20.030 is amended to read: 19 Sec. 15.20.030. Preparation of ballots, envelopes, and other material. The 20 director shall provide ballots for use as absentee ballots in all districts. The director 21 shall provide a secrecy sleeve in which the voter shall initially place the marked ballot, 22 and shall provide an envelope with the prescribed voter's certificate on it, in which the 23 secrecy sleeve with ballot enclosed shall be placed. The director shall prescribe the 24 form of and prepare the voter's certificate, envelopes, and other material used in 25 absentee voting. The voter's certificate shall include a declaration, for use when 26 required, that the voter is a qualified voter in all respects, a blank for the voter's 27 signature, and a space for recording the date that the voter executed the 28 certificate. An envelope may not identify a voter's party affiliation [, A 29 CERTIFICATION THAT THE AFFIANT PROPERLY EXECUTED THE 30 MARKING OF THE BALLOT AND GAVE THE VOTER'S IDENTITY, BLANKS 31 FOR THE ATTESTING OFFICIAL OR WITNESS, AND A PLACE FOR
01 RECORDING THE DATE THE ENVELOPE WAS SEALED AND WITNESSED]. 02 The envelope with the voter's certificate must include a notice that false statements 03 made by the voter [OR BY THE ATTESTING OFFICIAL OR WITNESS] on the 04 certificate are punishable by law. 05 * Sec. 17. AS 15.20.072 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 06 (h) If a voter satisfies the requirements of (d) of this section, the division may 07 not reject a voter's special needs ballot based on an error by an election official or 08 representative on the register under (c) of this section or an error by a representative 09 under (d) of this section. 10 * Sec. 18. AS 15.20.081(d) is amended to read: 11 (d) Upon receipt of an absentee ballot by mail, the voter [, IN THE 12 PRESENCE OF A NOTARY PUBLIC, COMMISSIONED OFFICER OF THE 13 ARMED FORCES INCLUDING THE NATIONAL GUARD, DISTRICT JUDGE 14 OR MAGISTRATE, UNITED STATES POSTAL OFFICIAL, REGISTRATION 15 OFFICIAL, OR OTHER PERSON QUALIFIED TO ADMINISTER OATHS,] may 16 proceed to mark the ballot in secret, to place the ballot in the secrecy sleeve, to place 17 the secrecy sleeve in the envelope provided, and to sign the voter's certificate on the 18 envelope. The [IN THE PRESENCE OF AN OFFICIAL LISTED IN THIS 19 SUBSECTION WHO SHALL SIGN AS ATTESTING OFFICIAL AND SHALL 20 DATE THE SIGNATURE. IF NONE OF THE OFFICIALS LISTED IN THIS 21 SUBSECTION IS REASONABLY ACCESSIBLE, AN ABSENTEE VOTER 22 SHALL SIGN THE VOTER'S CERTIFICATE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN 23 INDIVIDUAL WHO IS 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, WHO SHALL SIGN AS 24 A WITNESS AND ATTEST TO THE DATE ON WHICH THE VOTER SIGNED 25 THE CERTIFICATE IN THE INDIVIDUAL'S PRESENCE, AND, IN ADDITION, 26 THE] voter shall certify, as prescribed in AS 09.63.020, under penalty of perjury, that 27 the statements in the voter's certification are true. 28 * Sec. 19. AS 15.20.203(b) is amended to read: 29 (b) An absentee ballot must be rejected [MAY NOT BE COUNTED] if 30 (1) the voter has failed to properly execute the certificate; 31 (2) [AN OFFICIAL OR THE WITNESSES AUTHORIZED BY LAW
01 TO ATTEST THE VOTER'S CERTIFICATE FAIL TO EXECUTE THE 02 CERTIFICATE, EXCEPT THAT AN ABSENTEE BALLOT CAST IN PERSON 03 AND ACCEPTED BY AN ABSENTEE VOTING OFFICIAL OR ELECTION 04 SUPERVISOR MAY BE COUNTED DESPITE FAILURE OF THE ABSENTEE 05 VOTING OFFICIAL OR ELECTION SUPERVISOR TO PROPERLY SIGN AND 06 DATE THE VOTER'S CERTIFICATE AS ATTESTING OFFICIAL AS REQUIRED 07 UNDER AS 15.20.061(c); 08 (3) THE BALLOT IS NOT ATTESTED ON OR BEFORE THE 09 DATE OF THE ELECTION; 10 (4)] the ballot envelope and certificate, if delivered by mail after the 11 day of the election [POSTMARKED], 12 (A) is not postmarked or is postmarked after [ON OR 13 BEFORE] the date of the election; or 14 (B) is executed after the date of the election; 15 (3) [(5)] after the day of election, the ballot was delivered by a means 16 other than mail; or 17 (4) [OR (6)] the voter voted 18 (A) in person and is a 19 (i) first-time voter who initially registered by mail or by 20 facsimile or other electronic transmission approved by the director 21 under AS 15.07.050, has not provided the identification required by 22 AS 15.15.225(a), was not eligible for waiver of the identification 23 requirement under AS 15.15.225(b), and has not provided the 24 identifiers required in AS 15.07.060(a)(2) and (3) that can be verified 25 through state agency records described in AS 15.07.055(e); or 26 (ii) voter other than one described in (i) of this 27 subparagraph, did not provide identification described in 28 AS 15.15.225(a), was not personally known by the election official, 29 and has not provided the identifiers required in AS 15.07.060(a)(2) and 30 (3); or 31 (B) by mail or electronic transmission, is a first-time voter who
01 initially registered by mail or by facsimile or other electronic transmission 02 approved by the director under AS 15.07.050 to vote, has not met the 03 identification requirements set out in AS 15.07.060, and does not submit with 04 the ballot a copy of a 05 (i) driver's license, state identification card, current and 06 valid photo identification, birth certificate, passport, or hunting or 07 fishing license; or 08 (ii) current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, 09 government check, or other government document; an item described 10 in this sub-subparagraph must show the name and current address of 11 the voter. 12 * Sec. 20. AS 15.20.220(b) is amended to read: 13 (b) The state review board shall review and count absentee ballots under 14 AS 15.20.081(e) and (h), absentee ballots properly cured under AS 15.20.221, and 15 questioned ballots that have been forwarded to the director and that have not been 16 reviewed or counted by a district counting board. 17 * Sec. 21. AS 15.20 is amended by adding a new section to read: 18 Sec. 15.20.221. Procedure for curing uncounted ballot. (a) If a voter's ballot 19 is rejected because the certificate is missing a signature or the voter provided 20 insufficient voter identification, the director shall immediately make a reasonable 21 effort to contact the voter, explain the ballot deficiency, explain how the deficiency 22 may be cured, and inform the voter of the deadline to cure the ballot. The director 23 shall, within 24 hours, send a notice of deficiency by electronic mail to the voter's 24 electronic mail address if the voter has provided an electronic mail address. If the 25 voter has provided a telephone number, the director shall, within 24 hours, attempt to 26 notify the voter of the deficiency by telephone call and text message. The director 27 shall, within 48 hours, but not later than five days after election day, send a notice of 28 deficiency by first class, nonforwardable mail to the address in the voter's registration 29 record. 30 (b) A notice of deficiency must include a form for the voter to confirm that the 31 voter returned a ballot to the division, provide a copy of a form of identification
01 accepted by the division under AS 15.15.225(a), and provide a signature. The director 02 shall provide a printed copy of the form with the notice of deficiency mailed to the 03 voter. The director shall also make the form available in a format that can be 04 completed and returned electronically. 05 (c) The rejected ballot of a voter who received a notice of deficiency may be 06 counted only if 07 (1) the voter returns the completed form sent with the notice of 08 deficiency, the division receives the form within 14 days after election day, and the 09 form confirms that the voter returned a ballot to the division; 10 (2) the voter provides a signature and includes a copy of a form of 11 identification accepted by the division under AS 15.15.225(a); and 12 (3) the ballot is otherwise valid. 13 (d) A voter's rejected ballot may not be counted and the director shall, if 14 applicable, send copies of the signature on the voter's return envelope to the attorney 15 general for investigation if the voter returns the form and the form indicates that the 16 voter did not return a ballot to the division. 17 * Sec. 22. AS 15.80 is amended by adding a new section to read: 18 Sec. 15.80.006. Cybersecurity. The director shall, by regulation, develop a 19 cybersecurity program to defend the voter registration records kept by the division 20 against cyber attacks and data breaches and enable the division to detect and recover 21 from cyber attacks. The program must include cybersecurity training for election 22 officials. 23 * Sec. 23. AS 15.80 is amended by adding a new section to read: 24 Sec. 15.80.009. Deepfake disclosure requirement. (a) A person may not 25 make or retain the services of another to make an election-related communication that 26 the person knows or reasonably should know includes a deepfake relating to a 27 candidate or proposition without including the following disclosure statement with the 28 election-related communication: "This communication has been manipulated or 29 generated by artificial intelligence or by another means." If the election-related 30 communication includes a print or video component, the statement must be placed in 31 the election-related communication so the statement is easily discernible, and, for a
01 broadcast, cable, satellite, Internet, or other digital communication, the statement must 02 remain onscreen throughout the entirety of the election-related communication. In an 03 election-related communication that consists only of audio, the statement must be read 04 (1) at the beginning of the audio, at the end of the audio, and, if the 05 audio is longer than two minutes in duration, at least once every two minutes during 06 the audio; and 07 (2) in a manner that is easily heard. 08 (b) A person may not remove the disclosure statement described in (a) of this 09 section from an election-related communication that the person knows or reasonably 10 should know includes a deepfake. 11 (c) A person who violates (a) or (b) of this section is liable to a candidate or 12 proposition group for damages suffered as a result of the violation, full reasonable 13 attorney fees, and costs. 14 (d) A candidate or proposition group suffering damages as a result of an 15 election-related communication made in violation of (a) of this section, or the removal 16 of the disclosure statement from an election-related communication in violation of (b) 17 of this section, may bring an action for damages under (c) of this section, or for 18 injunctive relief to prohibit dissemination of the election-related communication. 19 (e) This section does not apply to 20 (1) a deepfake that constitutes satire or parody; 21 (2) a deepfake broadcast by a radio, television, cable, or satellite 22 provider as part of a newscast, news interview, news documentary, or on-the-spot 23 coverage of a news event, if the broadcast clearly acknowledges, through content or 24 disclosure, in a manner easily heard or read by the average listener or viewer, that 25 there are questions about the authenticity of the deepfake; 26 (3) a person who is paid to broadcast an election-related 27 communication made by another person. 28 (f) In this section, 29 (1) "deepfake" means an image, audio recording, or video recording of 30 an individual's appearance, conduct, or spoken words that has been created or 31 manipulated with machine learning, natural language processing, or another
01 computational processing technique in a manner to create a realistic but false image, 02 audio, or video that 03 (A) appears to a reasonable person to depict a real individual 04 saying or doing something that did not actually occur; or 05 (B) provides a fundamentally different understanding or 06 impression of an individual's appearance, conduct, or spoken words than the 07 understanding a reasonable person would have from an unaltered, original 08 version of the media; 09 (2) "election-related communication" means a communication that 10 (A) directly or indirectly identifies a candidate or proposition; 11 and 12 (B) is disseminated to an audience that includes voters who will 13 have the opportunity to vote on the candidate or proposition identified in the 14 communication; 15 (3) "proposition" has the meaning given in AS 15.13.065(c); 16 (4) "proposition group" means a person registered with the Alaska 17 Public Offices Commission to make expenditures in support of or in opposition to a 18 proposition under AS 15.13.050. 19 * Sec. 24. AS 24.60.080 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 20 (l) A contribution toward a legal fund under AS 24.60.111 controlled by a 21 legislator is not a gift to the legislator if reported under AS 24.60.111. 22 * Sec. 25. AS 24.60 is amended by adding a new section to read: 23 Sec. 24.60.111. Legal funds. (a) A legislator may establish a legal fund to pay 24 attorney fees and costs incurred in an election contest, a challenge to the legislator's 25 eligibility to serve, a vote count, a review of absentee, special needs, or questioned 26 ballots, or a recount appeal. 27 (b) Notwithstanding AS 15.13, a legislator may at any time solicit and accept 28 contributions to a legal fund established under this section. The Alaska Public Offices 29 Commission shall adopt regulations 30 (1) relating to establishing a fund under this section; 31 (2) identifying allowable uses of money in and the disposition of
01 surplus money from a fund under this section; and 02 (3) requiring disclosure of contributions to and expenditures from a 03 fund under this section. 04 (c) A contribution to a fund established under this section is not subject to the 05 restrictions under AS 24.60.031 or 24.60.080. 06 (d) An individual required to register as a lobbyist under AS 24.45 may not 07 make a contribution to a legal fund under this section at any time the individual is 08 subject to the registration requirement under AS 24.45 and for one year after the date 09 of the individual's initial registration or its renewal. However, the individual may 10 make a contribution under this section to a legislator for a district in which the 11 individual is eligible to vote. An individual who is subject to the restrictions of this 12 subsection shall report to the Alaska Public Offices Commission, on a form provided 13 by the commission, each contribution made while required to register as a lobbyist 14 under AS 24.45. Upon request of the commission, the information required under this 15 subsection shall be submitted electronically. This subsection does not apply to a 16 representational lobbyist as defined in regulation by the commission. 17 * Sec. 26. AS 29.26.050 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 18 (d) Except as a municipality may require for elections held only in specific 19 local election districts or service areas under (b) of this section, a person who has lived 20 within the municipality for at least 30 days, but who has not registered to vote in state 21 elections at a residence address within the municipality at least 30 days before a 22 municipal election, may vote only an absentee, special needs, or questioned ballot in 23 that election. The municipality may not reject the absentee, special needs, or 24 questioned ballot of a qualified voter who registers within 30 days before or on the day 25 of an election on the grounds that the voter is not on the official registration list for the 26 election. 27 * Sec. 27. This Act takes effect July 1, 2024.