Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
02/11/2025 03:15 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB21 | |
| HB43 | |
| HB4 | |
| HB63 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 21 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 43 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 63 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 4 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 21-VOTER PREREGISTRATION FOR MINORS
3:16:00 PM
CHAIR CARRICK announced that the first order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 21, "An Act relating to voter preregistration
for minors at least 16 years of age; and relating to
confidentiality of voter registration and preregistration
records of minors at least 16 years of age."
3:16:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY, as prime sponsor, introduced HB 21. She
asked everybody to think about HB 21 as a way to increase civic
engagement and impart knowledge about the voting process by
allowing 16-year-old Alaskans to pre-register to vote. She said
that they would still need to be 18 to vote but this proposed
bill would allow pre-registration. She said that voting is
fundamental to a healthy democracy for both the state and
country and getting the youth started is important. She said
that across the nation, young people aged 16-29 typically have
the lowest voter turnout of any age group. She said that many
adults complain about a lack of civics education for the youth,
and this results in a lack of knowledge of government and causes
reduced participation in voting. She said that currently in
Alaska, 90 days before the 18th birthday, youth are allowed to
pre-register to vote. She said that at this time many youths
are pre-occupied with graduation, post-secondary education, and
work decisions. She said that finding the time to pre-register
during this time can be difficult. She said that HB 21 seeks to
address these concerns by allowing 16-year-olds to pre-register
and allow access to the voting process.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY said that at 16 years old, most youth are
living at home and attending school, often taking a government
class. She opined that this is an opportune time to ensure the
youth have the support they need to pre-register for voting.
She said that research suggests that when youth are pre-
registered to vote, they are more likely to participate in
future voting matters and those who vote develop a habit to keep
voting. She said states like Florida, Louisiana, California,
and Colorado have already implemented youth voter pre-
registration and have seen an increased youth voter turnout.
She said that this bill would follow federal law and
automatically provide an opportunity to register youth when
receiving a driver's license at the Division of Motor Vehicles
(DMV). She said allowing the opportunity to pre-register during
this time would allow for easy access. She said the
confirmation postage would be mailed out 45 days before their
18th birthday to confirm voter details. She explained the
process to the committee members regarding confirming pre-
registered voters.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY said that this bill also would correct a
flaw that currently is in statute. She said HB 21 would
establish that the address and telephone numbers for anyone
under 18 shall remain confidential and not be subject to public
view. She said that currently, 17-year-olds who pre-register do
not have this confidentiality. She said in conclusion that HB
21 would allow access and civic opportunities for the next
generation to participate in democracy and this bill would
bolster state participation in voting.
3:21:57 PM
HONOUR MILLER AUSTIN, Staff, Representative Andi Story, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Story, prime
sponsor, presented the sectional analysis [included in the
committee file] for HB 21, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Section 1: Adds new subsection (b) to AS 15.07.040 to
allow a person to preregister to vote if the person:
• Is at least 16 years of age; and
• Under 18 years of age; and
• Provides required information for voter registration
already in statute, with the replacement of a voter
registration declaration, supplemented with a
declaration that the person will be 18 years of age or
older within two years after the date of
preregistration.
Also adds new subsection (c) to AS 15.07.040 which
designates that the division shall register a person
who has preregistered to vote under AS 15.07.040 which
designates that the division shall register a person
who has a preregistered to vote under AS 15.07.040 (b)
90 days before the person turns 18 years of age and
forward them a registration card.
Section 2: Amends AS 15.07.195 to add new subsection
(e) to read,
• The address and telephone number of a person under
18 years of age who registers or preregisters to vote
are confidential.
3:23:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked if there was a plan regarding
outreach to 16-year-olds that would now qualify for pre-
registration and have this option.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that some of the invited
testimonies could help address this question and that there is
some education that would need to be done but there currently
was no funding in the proposed bill for that.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked whether somebody who is pre-
registered would receive information pertaining to elections
such as pamphlets even though they wouldn't be old enough to
vote.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that an invited testifier could
better address this question.
3:26:09 PM
CAROL BEECHER, Director, Division of Elections, Office of the
Lieutenant Governor, in response to Representative Hollands
question regarding pamphlets, said that currently these types of
items are sent to voter households, and if anybody living in
that household was eligible to vote, then material would be
sent.
3:26:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MOORE asked if the proposed bill would exacerbate
problems with the current and problematic voter roll.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that Ms. Beecher could best
answer this question.
MS. BEECHER responded that this group of pre-registered voters
would not be part of the list due to the confidentiality
component of the bill and would not be considered eligible
voters until they turned 18.
REPRESENTATIVE MOORE asked if a system was in place to keep
track of these voters and whether they were eligible to vote
when 18.
MS. BEECHER said that the Division of Elections anticipates
handling this in the same fashion as 17-year-olds when pre-
registered. She said that they would be on the pre-registration
list until the system recognizes that they are soon to turn 18
and after they would be sent information to confirm the voter
details.
REPRESENTATIVE MOORE asked for confirmation that this is not
part of the bill yet, this process.
MS. BEECHER responded that it is correct.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY added that an amendment was coming to
ensure that this happened.
3:29:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE remarked that she had been advancing the
work to clean up voter rolls. She understood that the
Municipality of Anchorage and the Municipality of Juneau rely on
the rolls from the Division of Elections. She asked how the
proposed bill would impact the automatic distribution of ballots
for mail-in votes.
MS. BEECHER responded that she was not entirely familiar with
what the municipalities do when they send things out. She said
that another testifier could better address this question.
3:30:08 PM
MICHAELA THOMPSON, Division Operations Manager, Division of
Elections, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, said that the
division would only give the municipalities a list of active
voters and underage voter information would not be included.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE stated that there were ongoing concerns
about Alaskans who received ballots for previous tenants who are
still on the roll but not at the address. She asked what
assurances can be given to ensure that this issue would not
occur.
MS. THOMPSON said this question could best be answered by Ms.
Beecher.
MS. BEECHER said that the way the current bill is written does
not include 16-year-olds on the list that would be accessible to
the municipalities.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked how much time Ms. Beecher foresees
the Division of Elections needing to maintain this increase in
pre-registration.
MS. BEECHER responded that the Division of Elections is in the
process of redoing its voter registration system and this is a
big reason why this proposed bill has a zero fiscal note. She
said if the bill passes then it would be built into the system.
She said the voter roll transfer would be triggered by a
birthdate.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked what happens if the pre-registered
voters do not reply to information that confirms voter details.
MS. BEECHER responded that if an individual did not reply then
they would not be registered for voting.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked Representative Story what the overall
purpose of the bill is; she said that nothing prohibits 17-year-
olds from registering in advance to vote by their 18th birthday.
She said that currently the voter roll was in the process of
getting cleaned up and questioned adding more names to the roll.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that these youth are in a pending
status. She said these names would be confidential and the bill
would ensure confidentiality for 17-year-olds as well by closing
a loophole. She said the whole intent of the proposed bill,
much like the other states that have passed legislation, is to
make younger people more aware of the voting process. She
reiterated that before the 18th birthday, a lot of upcoming
voting candidates are busy. She said that HB 21 seeks to
strengthen democracy and that the other states that do this see
an increase in younger people voting. She said that she doesn't
see it as adding to the voter rolls because they are in pending
status.
3:36:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked for clarification regarding the
process for fully registering a pre-registered voter. He asked
whether pre-registered voters who turn 18, receive confirmation
paperwork or are automatically enrolled.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that a card is mailed prior to
voting eligibility, and this would enroll voters. She said that
if pre-registered voters moved or were not eligible then they
would not be enrolled.
MS. BEECHER added that this was part of the proposed amendment
and not currently in the bill. She said the process for current
17-year-olds is that they can pre-register 90 days before an
election and when they do this the Division of Elections sends a
voter registration card and after completing this card, they
would be placed in the voter registration system.
3:39:21 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MOORE asked Representative Story, given research
on other states using pre-registration processes, whether there
had been any issues with pre-registered voters trying to vote
early and would there be a penalty.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that they couldn't vote before 18
because they would not get a voter card, and they would need to
be 18 to receive the card. She said that she hadn't heard of
other states that had issues but could reach out.
3:40:20 PM
CHAIR CARRICK transitioned to invited testimony.
3:41:06 PM
MARION CLOUGH, Member, League of Women Voters, gave invited
testimony in support of HB 21. She said that the League of
Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization, and its position is
to encourage the maximum interest and participation in the
electoral process. The group believes that HB 21 would increase
civic engagement and encourage participation in the voting
process. She said that pre-registration creates good voting
habits by allowing a young person to be involved in civic
education early and while still living at home. She said the
proposed bill would also help eliminate barriers to voting and
would allow young people to have a confident voice. The League
of Women's Voters promotes civic education and not who or what
to vote for but how to vote. She said an example of one of the
nonpartisan programs supported by the League of Women Voters is
the Juneau's Capitol Students, Capitol Visits. She said this is
an opportunity for students to learn about various government
operations and allow them to learn about the procedures
associated with the legislature. Pre-registering youth at 16
can ease the process and allow them to become an active and
engaged voter.
3:43:39 PM
AMY GALLAWAY, Retired Fairbanks Civics Teacher, gave an invited
testimony in support of HB 21. She said allowing nonpartisan
early voter registration can empower students to be more engaged
citizens by demystifying the registration process. She said it
can also make the registration process more relevant for
students because it then can be paired with increased school and
family support. She said that for 25 years she taught the
election process to high school students from all walks of life
and one experience they all had in common was the confusion
regarding the voting process. She said complexities in the
system can be addressed by adding pre-registration processes.
She said that while employed as a teacher, the school held
multiple registration drives each year. She said that last year
in her Alaska Studies Class, when talking about local elections,
she always had assignments where students needed to go home and
talk about what they were learning. She said that three
students told her that they took their parents to the polls and
for one student, their mother had never voted in a local
election before. She said that her students got their parents
to the poll. She said to imagine if a pre-registration process
could engage parental voters as well. She concluded by stating
that doing civics in school and having pre-registration would
increase voter engagement.
3:47:36 PM
MADISON ARREOLA, Anchorage Youth Vote, gave invited testimony in
support of HB 21. She said that voting is a powerful tool to
determine how people want democracy to be lead. She said that
democracy is a value that means something to everyone and not
just adults. She said that allowing everyone access to vote is
what matters. She said that voters aged 18-29 have the lowest
voter turnout of any age group. She said that everyone in that
age group has a right to vote and asked why this was the case.
She said that allowing 16-year-olds to preregister would allow
this age group to have a voice.
3:49:50 PM
CHAIR CARRICK announced that HB 21 was held over.