03/12/2019 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS

              HB  83-PROHIBIT VOTING BY FACSIMILE                                                                           
                                                                                                                              
4:24:17 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR FIELDS announced that the  final order of business would                                                               
be HOUSE  BILL NO. 83, "An  Act relating to voting  by electronic                                                               
transmission in a state election;  and providing for an effective                                                               
date."                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:24:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL moved to adopt  the committee substitute (CS)                                                               
for HB  83, labeled 31-LS0635\M,  Bullard, 3/11/19.   There being                                                               
no objection, Version M was before the committee.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
4:25:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS,  as prime sponsor  of HB 83,  Version M,                                                               
relayed that the proposed legislation  was drafted in response to                                                               
recommendations  by national  security  experts  on steps  Alaska                                                               
could take to  fortify the integrity of its election  system.  He                                                               
said  that  the  Division  of   Elections  (DOE)  has  made  some                                                               
regulatory  changes  as  part  of   an  ongoing  effort  to  make                                                               
improvements in the  security of the election system.   He stated                                                               
that one of the recommendations  from the national experts was to                                                               
discontinue electronic  - or  non-analog -  return of  ballots to                                                               
DOE,  therefore,  avoiding  the  possibility of  a  ballot  being                                                               
tampered  with or  manipulated in  the process  of its  return to                                                               
DOE.   He mentioned that  DOE has discontinued  accepting ballots                                                               
by email and  facsimile (fax) for the same  reason, since transit                                                               
over internet connections would be  susceptible to tampering.  He                                                               
added that fax return of ballots is outdated.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
4:28:01 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  LEDOUX  asked  whether the  proposed  legislation                                                               
would change the rules regarding DOE sending out ballots by fax.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
4:28:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JOHN  SCANLON,  Staff,  Representative  Jonathan  Kreiss-Tomkins,                                                               
Alaska  State  Legislature,  replied  that Version  M  would  not                                                               
change the ability  of DOE to deliver absentee  ballots to voters                                                               
by fax.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX expressed  her understanding that currently                                                               
you  may receive  a  faxed ballot  from DOE  after  the time  has                                                               
passed for DOE  to send absentee ballots out by  mail.  She asked                                                               
whether currently one has the choice  to return the ballot to DOE                                                               
by fax or by mail.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. SCANLON responded that the  only absentee ballots that may be                                                               
returned by  fax are  absentee ballots that  a voter  received by                                                               
fax or through an online ballot delivery system.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX  asked whether a  ballot must be  sent back                                                               
to DOE by fax  if received by fax or whether it  may be sent back                                                               
by mail.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR. SCANLON replied that currently  someone receiving a ballot by                                                               
fax may return it by fax or by mail.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STORY  asked for  clarification.  She  stated that                                                               
her  understanding was  that a  ballot could  not be  returned by                                                               
fax.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  KREISS-TOMKINS   answered  by  saying   that  currently                                                               
ballots may be  returned by fax; under  the proposed legislation,                                                               
a ballot would not be allowed to be returned by fax.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX  suggested that since DOE  barred return of                                                               
ballots by  email, it could,  on its  own, change the  rules with                                                               
respect to faxed ballots.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS  offered his  understanding that  DOE had                                                               
regulatory authority to disallow ballot return by email.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:31:51 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
GAIL FENUMIAI,  Director, Division of Elections  (DOE), Office of                                                               
the  Lieutenant  Governor  (OLG),   responded  that  it  was  her                                                               
understanding  that in  2018, DOE  made an  internal decision  to                                                               
disallow  the  return  of  ballots   through  the  online  ballot                                                               
delivery system.   She explained that the system  is not strictly                                                               
email; it  is a portal system  which consists of an  open network                                                               
over the  internet.  She  added that she  does not have  any more                                                               
history on that decision but would  be willing to research it and                                                               
provide the committee with more information.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX  asked whether it  is necessary to  pass HB
 to change  the rules with respect to the  returning of ballots                                                               
by fax, or if DOE could  accomplish the change on its own through                                                               
a regulatory change.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MS.  FENUMIAI replied  that  statutes  specifically identify  the                                                               
returning  of  voted  ballots  by   fax.    She  referred  to  AS                                                               
15.20.066(b),  which references  the return  of voted  ballots by                                                               
fax; that statutory reference would  need to be repealed to allow                                                               
the change.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  LEDOUX asked  for confirmation  that there  is no                                                               
statutory  reference  to the  returning  of  ballots through  the                                                               
portal system.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS. FENUMIAI  answered that to  the best of her  knowledge, there                                                               
is  no specific  reference  to [the  portal  system]; the  portal                                                               
system  is another  form of  voting  by electronic  transmission.                                                               
She  added  that  AS 15.20.066  specifically  mentions  returning                                                               
ballots by facsimile.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WOOL suggested  that  the  internet has  security                                                               
issues  regardless of  the type  of transmission;  therefore, the                                                               
fax is being eliminated altogether [for ballot return].                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. FENUMIAI responded  that the fax being discussed  is a "true"                                                               
faxing  - through  a fax  machine.   She said  that the  security                                                               
concerns come  from how  the term faxing  has changed  over time.                                                               
There are many different types of  methods of faxing; one can fax                                                               
through telephone  applications and non-analog type  lines, which                                                               
was the existing version of  technology in 1966 when the statutes                                                               
were first  implemented; and since  then technology  has changed.                                                               
She relayed that there is concern  that with the modern method of                                                               
faxing, there may be a "middleman" type of interference.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL  suggested that  no matter how  an individual                                                               
receives a ballot,  DOE wants a paper ballot returned,  and it is                                                               
the only way it will accept the ballot.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. FENUMIAI  replied, "It's  all paper ballot."   She  said that                                                               
currently if  someone was to  return a  ballot by fax,  DOE could                                                               
not use  that actual ballot  in the  count.  The  DOE bi-partisan                                                               
review board would  have to make a facsimile of  a facsimile onto                                                               
the AccuVote ballot paper for the vote to be counted.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WOOL  asked  for   confirmation  that  under  the                                                               
proposed  legislation,  the  faxed  ballot  would  no  longer  be                                                               
accepted.   The voter must  return a hard  copy of the  ballot to                                                               
DOE; it cannot be returned electronically.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS.  FENUMIAI answered,  "That's correct.   It  would have  to be                                                               
returned by mail - by the U.S. Postal Service."                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
4:36:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  LEDOUX asked  whether  someone,  who receives  an                                                               
absentee  ballot either  by fax  or mail,  may drop  it off  at a                                                               
polling station.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MS. FENUMIAI responded affirmatively and  added that a person may                                                               
take it into a polling station or any regional office of DOE.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE  referred to  the use  of a  privacy sleeve,                                                               
making the ballot  legitimate.  She asked how the  process - of a                                                               
ballot being received by the voter  by fax and returned to DOE by                                                               
mail - is  valid and secure from tampering, if  it didn't come in                                                               
a privacy sleeve like a traditional ballot.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS.   FENUMIAI  relayed   that   the  voter   is  supplied   with                                                               
instructions  on  putting the  voted  ballot  inside an  envelope                                                               
before putting  it into the  envelope to  be mailed back  to DOE.                                                               
She added that  voters who receive a ballot by  fax and return it                                                               
by fax also  sign a special oath declaring  that they acknowledge                                                               
they could  possibly be waiving  their rights to a  secret ballot                                                               
by returning the ballot by that method.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  FIELDS asked,  "What if  ... the  Russians ...  were to                                                               
look  at our  voting rolls  and  identify a  group of  registered                                                               
voters  and request  absentee ballots  that would  be emailed  to                                                               
them or  ... faxed to  them, and then  fill out those  ballots on                                                               
their behalf  and return them?"   He asked, "...  what protection                                                               
would there be to validate  that information and prevent the kind                                                               
of fraud that  occurs ... analogous ... to tax  return fraud ..."                                                               
He acknowledged that  the legitimate voter might go  to the polls                                                               
on Election  Day only to discover  that [a vote had  already been                                                               
cast  in his/her  name].    He asked  whether  that scenario  has                                                               
occurred and whether  it is something DOE is aware  of and guards                                                               
against.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MS. FENUMIAI answered that if someone  applies to vote by mail or                                                               
by  fax, the  application is  taken at  face value.   If  DOE can                                                               
identify  the  voter  based on  the  identification  that  he/she                                                               
provides and there is a signature, DOE accepts the application.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR FIELDS stated that HB 83 would be held over.