Legislature(2005 - 2006)
2005-01-21 Senate Journal
Full Journal pdf2005-01-21 Senate Journal Page 0117 SB 76 SENATE BILL NO. 76 BY THE SENATE RULES COMMITTEE BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR, entitled: "An Act relating to qualifications of voters, requirements and procedures regarding independent candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States, voter registration and voter registration records, voter registration through a power of attorney, voter registration using scanned documents, voter residence, precinct boundary and polling place designation and modification, recognized political parties, voters unaffiliated with a political party, early voting, absentee voting, application for absentee ballots through a power of attorney, or by scanned documents, ballot design, ballot counting, voting by mail, voting machines, vote tally systems, initiative, referendum, recall, and definitions in the Alaska Election Code; relating to incorporation elections; and providing for an effective date." was read the first time and referred to the State Affairs and Judiciary Committees. The following fiscal information was published today: Fiscal Note No. 1, zero, Office of the Governor Governor's transmittal letter dated January 20: Dear President Stevens: Under the authority of art. III, sec. 18, of the Alaska Constitution, I am transmitting a bill relating to the state's elections statutes. 2005-01-21 Senate Journal Page 0118 This bill would update statutes on qualifications of voters, voter registration, voter residence, precinct boundary modification, recognized political parties, voters unaffiliated with a political party, early and absentee voting, ballot counting, ballot design, voting by mail, voting machines and vote tallying, independent candidates for president, initiative, referendum, recall, and definitions. The updates are necessary to reflect current practices of the Division of Elections and to bring the statutes into compliance with recent court decisions and federal law. Section 1 of the bill would amend two provisions in AS 15.05.020 on rules for determining the residence of a voter. It would amend AS 15.05.020(2) to clarify that "temporary work sites" do not constitute a dwelling place; this provision formerly referenced "construction camps." Section 1 also would amend AS 15.05.020(10) to reference the official voter registration "record," rather than "card." Section 2 of the bill would amend AS 15.07.050 to allow voter registration through a power of attorney. Section 3 of the bill would amend AS 15.07.060(a)(4) on required registration information, to specify that the applicant must provide the applicant's Alaska residence address. Section 4 of the bill would amend AS 15.07.070(b) to allow voter registration by scanned transmissions and to allow voter registration through a power of attorney. Section 5 of the bill amends AS 15.07.127 on preparation of the master register of voters to recognize that confidential information will not be disclosed. Section 6 of the bill would amend AS 15.10.090 on notice of precinct boundary designation and modification, to require that notice be published on the Division of Elections' Internet website, and to clarify requirements for publication of notice in a newspaper and for posting notices. 2005-01-21 Senate Journal Page 0119 Section 7 of the bill would amend AS 15.15.030(7) to specifically recognize that names of independent candidates for President of the United States be included on the general election ballot. Section 8 of the bill would amend AS 15.15.350(a), on the general procedure for a ballot count, to require that the accounting for all ballots prepared by the election board include the number of ballots returned to the elections supervisor for destruction. Section 9 of the bill would amend AS 15.20.064(a) on early voting, to specify that the director of elections will designate locations for early voting by January 1 of each election year. Section 10 of the bill would amend AS 15.20.066(b) on absentee voting by electronic transmission, to lower the number of witnesses required from two to one. Section 11 of the bill would amend AS 15.20.081(a) to allow voters to apply for absentee ballots by scanning documents or through a written power of attorney. Sections 12 and 13 of the bill would amend AS 15.20.081(d) on absentee voting by mail or electronic transmission, to lower the number of witnesses required from two to one, and AS 15.20.081(h) to change the reference to military addresses from "APO or FPO address" to an "overseas voter qualifying under AS 15.05.011." Section 14 of the bill would amend AS 15.20.800(b) on voting by mail to specify that a ballot will not be sent to a voter whose address has been identified as undeliverable. Section 15 of the bill would add a proposed new section, AS 15.20.910, on voting system standards, incorporating recent federal requirements under the Help America Vote Act. Section 16 of the bill would add a proposed new section, AS 15.30.026, on qualifications for independent candidates for President. 2005-01-21 Senate Journal Page 0120 Sections 17 and 18 of the bill would amend AS 15.30.050 and 15.30.090 to conform to the qualifications set out in new AS 15.30.026 on independent candidates for President. Section 19 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.030 on the form of application for an initiative petition, to require additional information from the sponsors. Section 20 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.060 on designation of sponsors for an initiative, to specify that sponsors support the bill proposed by the initiative application and that the date of birth of any additional sponsors designated by the initiative committee be included in the notice information sent to the lieutenant governor. Section 21 of the bill would repeal and reenact AS 15.45.090 on preparation of petitions, to require the printed name and date of birth of those signing an initiative petition. This section also would require that initiative petitions be sequentially numbered, and would remove the requirement that the lieutenant governor keep a record of petitions delivered to sponsors. These changes are proposed to comply with the state superior court's decision in the case of Hinterberger v. State, 3AN-03-4092 CI (October 21, 2003). Section 22 of the bill would add a proposed new section, AS 15.45.105, to specify the qualifications of an initiative petition circulator. Section 23 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.120 on the manner of signing and withdrawing a name from an initiative petition, to require additional information from initiative petition signers. Section 24 of the bill would repeal and reenact AS 15.45.130 on the certification of circulators for an initiative petition, to reference the proposed new section on qualifications of an initiative petition circulator, and to delete the requirement that the circulator's name be prominently displayed on the petition. This latter requirement has not been enforced for some time in order to comply with the United States Supreme Court opinion in Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation, 525 U.S. 182 (1999), under advice from a formal opinion of the state attorney general's office, 2000 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 3 (September 22). 2005-01-21 Senate Journal Page 0121 Section 25 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.200 on display of the proposed law, to reduce the number of copies of a law proposed by an initiative that must be provided to the election board from 10 to five, and that must be displayed in the polling place from three to one. Section 26 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.270 on the form of the application, to conform the requirements for a referendum application to those required for an initiative application. Section 27 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.290 on designation of sponsors, to conform the requirements for a referendum sponsor to those required for an initiative sponsor. Section 28 of the bill would repeal and reenact AS 15.45.320 on preparation of a petition, to conform the requirements for a referendum petition to those required for an initiative petition. Section 29 of the bill would add a proposed new section, AS 15.45.335, to set out the qualifications for a circulator of a referendum petition. Section 30 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.340 on circulation, to incorporate the prohibitions and penalties applicable to initiative petitions and apply these to circulation of referendum petitions. Section 31 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.350 on the manner of signing and withdrawing a name from a petition, to require additional information for signing a referendum petition. Section 32 of the bill would repeal and reenact AS 15.45.360 on the certification of circulators, to conform the requirements for circulation of a referendum petition to those required for circulation of an initiative petition. Section 33 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.430 on display of the act being referred to in the referendum, to reduce the number of copies of the act that must be provided to the election board from ten to five, and that must be displayed in the polling place from three to one. 2005-01-21 Senate Journal Page 0122 Section 34 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.500 on the form of the application, to specify similar requirements for a recall application to those required for an initiative application, including deleting the requirement that recall petition circulators be registered voters. Section 35 of the bill would add a proposed new section, AS 15.45.515, on designation of sponsors for a recall application using language similar to the statute on initiative petition sponsors. Section 36 of the bill would repeal and reenact AS 15.45.560 on preparation of the recall petition, to impose requirements similar to the requirements for an initiative petition. Section 37 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.570 regarding the statement of warning on recall petitions similar to the requirements for an initiative petition. Section 38 of the bill would add a proposed new section, AS 15.45.575, on qualifications of circulators to set out the qualifications for circulation of a recall petition. Section 39 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.580 on circulation, to add requirements on circulation of a recall petition similar to those for circulation of initiative petitions. Section 40 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.590 on the manner of signing and withdrawing a name from a petition, to require additional information from recall petition signers. Section 41 of the bill would repeal and reenact AS 15.45.600 on certification of circulators for a recall petition, to add similar requirements to those for circulation of an initiative petition. Section 42 of the bill would amend AS 15.45.680 on display of grounds for and against recall, to reduce the number of copies provided to the election board from ten to five, and the number displayed in the polling place from three to one. 2005-01-21 Senate Journal Page 0123 Section 43 of the bill would add a proposed new section, AS 15.60.003, to set up voter registration categories for voters who are unaffiliated with a political party. Section 44 of the bill would add a proposed new section, AS 15.60.008, to set out the procedural requirements for parties to obtain recognized political party status. Section 45 of the bill would amend AS 15.60.010 by adding a new definition of "reregistration." Section 46 of the bill would amend AS 29.05.110(b) to clarify the requirements for voter registration for municipal elections. Section 47 of the bill would amend AS 29.05.110(c) to clarify that qualified voters registered to vote in the proposed borough may vote on adoption of a non-areawide power. Section 48 of the bill would add a new subsection to AS 29.05.110 defining a "qualified voter" as that term is defined in AS 15.60.010. Section 49 of the bill would repeal AS 15.10.020(b). This provision is now set out in AS 15.10.090(l) as amended by this bill. It also would repeal AS 15.20.048 on absentee voting in offices of election supervisors. Section 50 of the bill would provide that the changes made by secs. 19 - 42 of the bill apply to an application for an initiative, referendum, or recall that is filed with the lieutenant governor on or after the effective date of the bill. Section 51 of the bill would provide that the elections statutes, as they existed before the amendments made by secs. 19 - 42 of this bill, would apply to an initiative, referendum, or recall for which the application was filed before the effective date of the bill. Section 52 of the bill would establish an immediate effective date for the bill. 2005-01-21 Senate Journal Page 0124 I urge your prompt and favorable action on this measure. Sincerely yours, /s/ Frank H. Murkowski Governor