03/10/2020 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS

                 HB 250-VOTER REGISTRATION AGE                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
3:08:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  KREISS-TOMKINS   announced  that  the  next   order  of                                                               
business would be  HOUSE BILL NO. 250, "An Act  relating to voter                                                               
preregistration for minors at least 16 years of age."                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:09:39 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HB 250.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:09:46 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JUDY  SMITH, Board  Member, Kids  Voting North  Alaska, testified                                                               
that her board expressed that HB  250 would be very beneficial in                                                               
enlisting youth  involvement in their own  registration process -                                                               
more so  than offered by the  automatic system.  The  goal of her                                                               
organization  is to  interest  young people  in  voting early  in                                                               
their lives so  that voting becomes part of  the "family fabric."                                                               
The  organization urges  students  to vote  with their  families,                                                               
thus,  encouraging parents  to vote.   She  expressed her  belief                                                               
that  passage of  HB 250  would  raise the  percentage of  voters                                                               
among young people and impact families as well.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:11:02 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ALEX   KOPLIN,  Kenai   Peninsula  Votes,   testified  that   his                                                               
organization is non-partisan  and encourages people to  vote.  He                                                               
expressed his  support for the  proposed legislation  to increase                                                               
voter turnout, to engage voters,  and to highlight the importance                                                               
of  voting.   He  maintained that  it  would increase  engagement                                                               
among young people,  as well as in high schools  and in families.                                                               
He emphasized that increasing the  percentage of voters is a non-                                                               
partisan  issue and  getting people  out  to vote  is an  ongoing                                                               
challenge.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:13:40 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KENGO NAGAOKA, Youth Civic  Engagement Coordinator, Alaska Center                                                               
Education  Fund,  testified  that  he became  involved  in  local                                                               
issues at  an early age.   He works on voter  engagement of young                                                               
people  and  creating  opportunities  for  young  people  to  get                                                               
involved in the political process.   The work of his organization                                                               
is non-partisan.   He maintained  that HB 250 would  expand voter                                                               
engagement opportunities  into high  school; most  high schoolers                                                               
turn age 18  after graduation.  High school  offers an incredible                                                               
opportunity for  teachers to  be able to  talk about  voting with                                                               
their students.  He mentioned a  practice in other states to send                                                               
out voter registration  forms with graduation diplomas.   He said                                                               
that HB 250 would provide an  entry point for the next generation                                                               
of Alaska leaders.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:16:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MAIDA  BUCKLEY, paraphrased  from  her  written testimony,  which                                                               
read [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     Thank  you for  this  opportunity  to submit  testimony                                                                    
     regarding HB250.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     "A republic, if you can keep it."                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Ben  Franklin's   now  famous   words  spoken   at  the                                                                    
     conclusion  of  the  Constitution  Convention  in  1787                                                                    
     carry authenticity  today. These words  acknowledge the                                                                    
     fragile  nature  of  representative democracy  that  is                                                                    
     dependent  upon   citizen  participation.  It   is  the                                                                    
     government's responsibility to  protect and promote the                                                                    
     right  to  participate, whether  it  is  by speech,  by                                                                    
     petition,  or by  the vote.  In this  light, I  support                                                                    
     HB250's providing a process  of pre-registration for 16                                                                    
     year  olds. By  engaging young  people in  the election                                                                    
     process,  HB250  strengthens our  democratic  republic.                                                                    
     Studies have shown that voter  turnout is enhanced when                                                                    
     voter registration is streamlined.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     HB 250 instills  in our youth the  importance of voting                                                                    
     to  maintain democratic  institutions and  provides the                                                                    
     foundation  for  creating  a  robust  electorate,  both                                                                    
     principles  guiding  our   founding  fathers  in  their                                                                    
     efforts to provide a strong and lasting democracy.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. BUCKLEY added the following testimony:                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     ...  the  government's  responsibility to  protect  and                                                                    
     promote  the  right to  participate  in  our system  of                                                                    
     representative government.   As  a society,  we believe                                                                    
     that every student  learn and recite the  words to both                                                                    
     the  "Pledge  of  Allegiance"  and  "The  Star-Spangled                                                                    
     Banner."   Similarly, learning the voting  process, how                                                                    
     to  register, how  to find  polling places,  let alone,                                                                    
     reading  and  marking  ballots, provide  students  with                                                                    
     this  tool.     This  bill  fulfills   the  promise  of                                                                    
     representative government  that our  founders presented                                                                    
     in the Declaration.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     In conclusion,  it seems  unfathomable that  women were                                                                    
     not allowed the  right to vote a hundred  years ago but                                                                    
     as  we   celebrate  this  hundredth   anniversary,  I'm                                                                    
     ironically   reminded   of    [what]   ...   Antoinette                                                                    
     Blackwell,  an  early   suffragette,  said,  "We  fully                                                                    
     believed, so soon  as we saw that  woman's suffrage was                                                                    
     right, everyone would soon see  the same thing, that in                                                                    
     a year or two, at farthest, it would be granted."                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MS. BUCKLEY pointed  out that it took over 70  years for suffrage                                                               
to be granted.   She stated that since passage  of the Nineteenth                                                               
Amendment to  the U.S. Constitution,  suffrage has  been extended                                                               
to other groups,  and other barriers to voting  have been removed                                                               
through  government   actions.    She  maintained   that  HB  250                                                               
represents  a continuation  of  that trend.    She expressed  the                                                               
value of  Kids Voting  in high school  and civic  engagement that                                                               
directly involves  students in the  process, not just  in theory,                                                               
but  in  actual actions  to  ensure  civic participation  in  the                                                               
democratic republic.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:20:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
RACHEL  HARTMAN paraphrased  from  her  written testimony,  which                                                               
read [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     I am Rachel Hartman, an 18 year old senior at Matsu                                                                        
     Career and Technical High School in Wasilla. I support                                                                     
     this bill because I believe it will be an effective                                                                        
     first step in mobilizing my peers to become more                                                                           
     active in politics early on in their lives. When                                                                           
     people are actively going to school they tend to be                                                                        
     more engaged in how the government runs by way of                                                                          
     Civics and Government classes. In Alaska we even have                                                                      
     a student government conference called the Alaska                                                                          
     Association of Student Governments abbreviated to AASG                                                                     
     where around 300 students from all over Alaska come                                                                        
     together twice a year to hear resolutions and decide                                                                       
     whether we support them as a whole. In the past AASG                                                                       
     has passed resolutions that support the lowering of                                                                        
     the voting age to 16 under specific circumstances such                                                                     
     as in 2018 it was only for municipal elections. Though                                                                     
     this bill only establishes preregistration, it                                                                             
     reflects the demands that Alaska's students have                                                                           
     expressed so frequently. Young people want to get out                                                                      
     there and do their civic duty and registration is a                                                                        
     good place for them to start. Often people graduate at                                                                     
     17 and are not registered before they had [sic] off to                                                                     
     college and are in a transitionary period, in that                                                                         
     time many forget to register and vote as they turn 18                                                                      
     and are eligible for the first time in their lives. I                                                                      
     believe this bill will help young people be ready to                                                                       
     vote when they are available to perform their civic                                                                        
     duty.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS closed public testimony.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:22:32 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE  clarified that  the state has  actively put                                                               
in place a mechanism for  automatic registration of Alaskans when                                                               
applying  for their  PFDs.    She maintained  that  the issue  of                                                               
people "falling  through the cracks" has  already been addressed,                                                               
and pre-registration  for 18-year-olds already exists.   She said                                                               
that she  asked a  16-year-old what  his/her peers  thought about                                                               
the topic;  the response was that  registering to vote at  16 and                                                               
not being allowed to vote is a major letdown.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE  maintained that  she likes  the educational                                                               
element of  the proposed  legislation; however,  HB 250  does not                                                               
include  any  educational  mechanism   that  the  teachers  don't                                                               
already have.   She expressed  her understanding that  the intent                                                               
of  HB 250  is to  encourage engagement  through activity  in the                                                               
process.   She acknowledged that  more needs  to be done  to make                                                               
young people  - and  all Alaskans  - aware of  the process.   She                                                               
stated that  her overall objection is  due to the FN,  which is a                                                               
challenge at this time                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:25:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  STORY emphasized  the importance  of an  educated                                                               
public and encouraging young people  to vote.  She mentioned that                                                               
she  has witnessed  the interest  and engagement  of students  in                                                               
local issues and  elections - both in  student government classes                                                               
and at  home.  She expressed  her belief that HB  250 would serve                                                               
Alaskans  well in  the future  by encouraging  more people  to be                                                               
active  in  elections.    She   lamented  the  small  turnout  in                                                               
elections  and the  fact  that few  voters  are making  decisions                                                               
affecting municipalities and choosing their representatives.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:27:30 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON moved  to report HB 250  out of committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
note.   There being no  objection, HB  250 was reported  from the                                                               
House State Affairs Standing Committee.