Legislature(2023 - 2024)GRUENBERG 120
05/03/2023 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB29 | |
| HB129 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 129 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 29 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 129-VOTER REGISTRATION
2:16:16 PM
CHAIR VANCE announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 129, "An Act relating to voter registration; and
providing for an effective date." [Before the committee was
CSHB 129(STA).]
2:16:44 PM
JAKE ALMEIDA, Staff, Representative Sarah Vance, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of the House Judiciary Standing
Committee, sponsor by request, referred to a document
illustrating the two-form process that was part of the list
maintenance process. He asked Ms. Beecher to expound on the two
mailers that were sent out to voters who had failed to vote in
the last two general elections.
2:17:45 PM
CAROL BEECHER, Director, Division of Elections (DOE), Office of
the Lieutenant Governor, described the two mailers.
2:18:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY asked how many of each mailer, identified as
C17A and C17B, were sent out each year.
MS. BEECHER did not know the answer. She offered to follow up
with the requested information.
2:19:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GROH sought clarification on the procedure that
triggered the mailers.
MS. BEECHER explained that after reviewing the voter
registration list each year, the first nonforwardable mailer was
sent out to individuals requesting address confirmation or
correction. The division would then send the second forwardable
notice to voters whose mail had been returned, or who failed to
vote or contact the division in the past two years. The second
notice informed voters that their registration would be
inactivated within 45 days if no response was received.
2:20:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GROH sought to confirm that the mailers were only
sent out to people that had not met the "screening criteria."
In other words, a person who voted in every election would not
receive them.
MS. BEECHER confirmed that Representative Groh was correct.
2:21:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether any additional cost was
associated with including "forwarding service requested," as
opposed to "return service requested" on the mailer.
MS. BEECHER offered to follow up with the requested information.
2:21:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY sought to confirm that should the bill pass,
the mailer identified as C17A would no longer be used.
MR. ALMEIDA confirmed that Representative Gray was correct.
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY asked whether changing to a one-step process
would be a cost-saving measure.
MS. BEECHER answered yes. She anticipated that the division
would save money by sending one notice, as opposed to two. She
reported that in 2022, DOE mailed 39,779 notices.
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY asked whether that figure represented a
combined total of both notices.
MS. BEECHER clarified that 39,779 reflected the first mailed
notice. In January 2023, the division followed up by sending
15,094 of the second mailed notice.
2:23:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY estimated that about 24,000 people responded
to the first mailed notice indicating that they wanted to remain
on the voter registration list. He asked whether that was
accurate.
MS. BEECHER answered yes.
CHAIR VANCE asked whether responding to the mailed notice was
the only way to cancel a voter's registration in the state of
Alaska.
MS. BEECHER answered no, voters could cancel their registration
by phone, mail, or email, in addition to the mailed notice.
2:24:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether an individual was required
to provide his/her Social Security number or some other form of
identification when cancelling a voter registration.
MS. BEECHER directed the question to Ms. Wilson.
2:25:31 PM
LORI WILSON, Regional Supervisor, Division of Elections (DOE),
Office of the Lieutenant Governor, stated that individuals were
asked to confirm their identity by providing multiple
identifiers on their record when cancelling their voter
registration.
2:26:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY questioned the difference between cancelling
a voters registration and inactivating a voter's status on the
voter registration list.
MS. WILSON explained that an "active status" and condition code
identified voters that were actively participating in elections.
Alternatively, "inactive status" reflected inactivity on the
voter's behalf, which was sometimes triggered by a death, a move
out of state, or a felony conviction involving moral turpitude.
She added that inactive voters remained in the system for a
certain timeframe; however, they did not appear on the precinct
registers at the polling places.
2:29:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY sought to confirm that there was no
difference between cancelling a voter's registration and
inactivating a voter's status on the voter registration list.
MS. WILSON confirmed that a voter who cancels his/her
registration would be moved to "inactive status" and would
remain in the system for a certain amount of time.
2:30:03 PM
CHAIR VANCE asked how long that period of time was.
MS. WILSON said until the end of the list maintenance period
unless the voter reactivated the registration by contacting the
division before that time.
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY said he was surprised that a deceased person
would remain on the register for as long as a year.
MS. BEECHER clarified that a deceased person would be removed
from the voter registration list once the death was confirmed.
2:32:14 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked how the division was notified of a
death.
MS. BEECHER said deaths were reported in a multitude of ways,
including family, the Electronic Registration Information Center
(ERIC) system, obituaries, and [Health Analytics and Vital
Records].
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked whether the division was updated on
a daily basis.
MS. BEECHER indicated that the division checked the obituaries
on a weekly basis; vital statistics were checked on a monthly
basis; and ERIC offered quarterly reports.
2:33:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD characterized monthly updates as
alarming and expressed an interest in tightening up the
process. She requested a list of deceased voters who had been
removed from the voter rolls from January 2023 to present.
CHAIR VANCE pointed out that the bill sought to provide more
tools to aid the division in this process.
2:35:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked how long it took the division to
place a deceased person on inactive status.
MS. WILSON clarified that death notices were processed by the
division daily. She expounded on the process of confirming a
death via obituary, explaining that the condition code was
changed from "active" to "inactive deceased" immediately.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether the division took note of
people who enter custody.
MS. WILSON relayed that DOE received notice from the courts, in
addition to the Department of Corrections (DOC), when
individuals were convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked how the division would become aware
of convictions in an out-of-state court.
MS. WILSON offered to follow up with the requested information.
CHAIR VANCE asked how the division distinguished voters who were
ineligible to vote in state elections on the voter registration
list.
MS. WILSON explained that permanent [inactive] overseas voters
were flagged in the system as "IOS," indicating that they could
only participate in federal races.
CHAIR VANCE asked whether those individuals were registered on a
separate list.
MS. WILSON said everyone was registered in the same database.
Voters with the IOS status and position code only received the
federal ballot forms and envelopes, she added.
CHAIR VANCE recalled the DOE data breach that impacted 113,000
Alaskans. She asked what the division had done to ensure that a
bad actor was not voting with the stolen identifiers.
MS. BEECHER sought clarity on the question.
CHAIR VANCE asked whether hacked information could be used to
impersonate an Alaskan by requesting a ballot or a change of
address.
MS. BEECHER offered to follow up with the requested information.
2:45:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked whether 20 ballots from the same
address would flag the system.
MS. BEECHER deferred to Ms. Wilson.
MS. WILSON answered yes, it would initiate further
investigation.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked whether signature verification
was required for the cancellation notice.
MS. WILSON said there was no signature verification process in
statute; nonetheless, she pointed out that the mailers included
an obscure voter number and name, which could be compared to the
voter's identifiers and signature if needed.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked Ms. Wilson to describe the
obscure voter number.
MS. WILSON described it as voter number that was not clearly
visible.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON sought to confirm that each mailed
notice included an obscure voter number, similar to a watermark,
which was used to identify the voter.
MS. WILSON explained that each mailer was addressed to the voter
and included a unique barcode. Additionally, the obscure voter
number could be added, which was unique to the division.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON sought to verify that each barcode
contained the voter's number, birthday, Social Security number,
and driver's license number.
MS. WILSON answered no. She clarified that the barcode was used
as an identifier to pull up the voter's information. She
stressed that the barcodes did not hold any personal
information.
2:50:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked whether the identifiers obtained
in the data breach could be used by a hacker to request a change
of address.
MS. WILSON clarified that the mailers were sent to the address
on file - not a random person's house. She acknowledged that
the division was incapable of stopping a person from stealing
someone's mail.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked whether there were protections
in place to stop a bad actor from requesting a change of
address.
MS. WILSON explained that multiple identifiers would be required
to change a mailing address.
2:53:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked for verification that the
identifiers included Social Security number, birthdate, and
driver's license number, adding that the hackers would have
obtained all three.
MS. WILSON listed the identifiers contained in the voter
registration as follows: voter number, last four digits of the
Social Security number, date of birth, and Alaska driver's
license number or state identification (ID) number.
CHAIR VANCE asked which signatures were deemed acceptable under
statute if there was no voter signature verification process.
MS. WILSON said images of each voter's signature from past
forms, such as the voter registration form, were collected and
kept on record.
MS. BEECHER stated that AS 15.07.060 required the applicant's
signature, which could be represented by a "mark." She
indicated that not every signature was necessarily available.
CHAIR VANCE expressed concern that bad actors could replicate
such marks.
2:56:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY pointed out that if a bad actor was using
that information to register to vote or to change an address,
individuals would realize at the polls that someone had already
voted for them. He asked whether such instances had occurred
since the data breach.
MS. BEECHER said there was no indication that the breached data
had been used to vote for nefarious purposes. She indicated
that the system had undergone a "hardening" for the purposes of
security.
2:58:17 PM
CHAIR VANCE asked how many of the 113,000 Alaskans impacted by
the data breach were on inactive status at the time.
MS. BEECHER offered to follow up with the requested information.
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked whether the division could track
the inactive voters who reactivated their status by voting.
MS. BEECHER offered to follow up with the requested information.
3:00:03 PM
CHAIR VANCE emphasized that DOE had been following statute;
however, she stated that Alaska's election statutes lacked
thoroughness. She said the bill sought to provide more clarity
in statute.
CHAIR VANCE announced that the CSHB 129(STA) was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB29.VerB.SponsorStatement.1.31.23.pdf |
HJUD 5/3/2023 1:00:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB29.VerB.1.31.23.PDF |
HFSH 5/3/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/3/2023 1:00:00 PM HL&C 2/10/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB29.VerB.SectionalAnalysis.1.31.23.pdf |
HFSH 5/3/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/3/2023 1:00:00 PM HL&C 2/10/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB 29 - Fiscal Note DCCED (04-05-23).pdf |
HFSH 5/3/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 4/28/2023 1:00:00 PM HJUD 5/3/2023 1:00:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB 29 - Amendment #1 (S.1) by Rep. Johnson.pdf |
HJUD 5/3/2023 1:00:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB 29 - Amendment #2 (S.3) by Rep. Eastman.pdf |
HJUD 5/3/2023 1:00:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB 29 - Amendment #3 (S.4) by Rep. Eastman.pdf |
HJUD 5/3/2023 1:00:00 PM |
HB 29 |