Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
04/11/2022 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB207 | |
| HB157 | |
| SB229 | |
| SB39 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 207 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 229 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 39 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 157 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
SB 39-BALLOT CUSTODY/TAMPERING; VOTER REG; MAIL
2:46:14 PM
CHAIR HOLLAND reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 39 "An Act relating to
elections; relating to voter registration; relating to ballots
and a system of tracking and accounting for ballots;
establishing an election offense hotline; designating as a class
A misdemeanor the collection of ballots from other voters;
designating as a class C felony the intentional opening or
tampering with a sealed ballot, certificate, or package of
ballots without authorization from the director of the division
of elections; and providing for an effective date."
CHAIR HOLLAND noted that this was the fourth hearing in this
committee and a committee substitute (CS) was adopted during the
previous hearing. He asked the sponsor if he had any comment on
the CS.
2:46:50 PM
SENATOR SHOWER stated that Mr. Ogan would speak to the committee
substitute.
2:47:31 PM
SCOTT OGAN, Staff, Senator Mike Shower, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, provided a summary of SB 39. He
said the sponsor's goal in revising election statutes was to
make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. The sponsor worked with
people with wide-ranging views. He hoped the process taken with
SB 39 would provide other states with a consensus model. He
noted that many states made accusations and floated conspiracy
theories. He stated that the sponsor preferred to use the
approach of consensus building in the committee substitute (CS).
MR. OGAN offered his belief that voting is a cornerstone of the
US democracy. He emphasized the need for voter confidence in the
voting system. Otherwise, he believed that the US would be in
serious trouble.
MR. OGAN pointed out that the Division of Elections had a data
breach that exposed personal information, the voter rolls need
updating, and the public is concerned about election security.
He stated that since the division follows the current statutes,
the legislature must address these issues as a policy-setting
body.
2:50:05 PM
MR. OGAN outlined changes in the bill to same-day registration,
including that voters must provide sufficient proof of identity,
submit a signed affidavit confirming residency in the district
under the penalty of perjury, and vote a questioned ballot. The
bill would increase opportunities for poll watchers and enhance
ballot security and chain of custody. Currently, election laws
allow ballots to be destroyed in the precincts. This bill would
require all ballots to be delivered to a central location for
destruction, which could help ensure the security of ballots
from the time they leave the Division of Elections until their
return.
2:54:17 PM
MR. OGAN stated that absentee ballots in Section 32 requires
online ballot tracking with a USPS barcode. He noted the
committee would be considering an amendment that would allow the
division to contract with private sector companies.
MR. OGAN stated that SB 39 would allow for early counting of
absentee ballots but make it a felony to disclose that
information. He surmised that it would cut down on time to tally
votes on Election Day.
2:55:27 PM
MR. OGAN stated that SB 39 would tighten up late arrival ballots
with ballot tracking by USPS. It would use voter signature
technology and eliminate the need for two witnesses to verify a
voter's identification. He stated that if a voter makes a simple
mistake on their ballot, the division will send a text to the
voter, so they can come to the division to cure their ballot. He
characterized it as not overly burdensome. The bill would
authorize the division to mail out ballots in small communities
when emergencies arise.
2:56:50 PM
MR. OGAN stated that SB 39 requires open-source voting to allow
the public to review the codes since none of the vendor's
hardware would be proprietary. This should eliminate any
conspiracy theories about the manipulation of voting machines.
SB 39 would create new crimes for intentionally tampering,
breaching, or hacking ballots. It would increase poll workers'
pay since the division has difficulty recruiting people.
MR. OGAN stated that the bill would offer a permanent absentee
ballot provision, although this provision still needs a little
work. He indicated that the committee could decide whether to
limit the permanent absentee ballot to four years. The bill
would require a strict chain of custody for voting equipment and
it increases cybersecurity.
2:59:29 PM
SENATOR SHOWER explained that a risk-limiting audit was
different from a forensic audit, which provides a money trail.
The risk-limiting audit would look at ballot counts and
registration. He outlined some concerns with the upcoming
election, including that the division will have a mass mailing
of ballots with no chain of custody. He was unsure whether the
division would institute a tracking system for all ballots
mailed to voters. He expressed concern that the ballots will not
require a signature verification, and the division does not plan
to cross-check the compromised voters affected by the data
breach. He explained that the open-source algorithm is to push
the voter identification data to allow voters to analyze the
data themselves.
3:01:05 PM
SENATOR HUGHES asked whether the division would require proof of
30-day residency for same-day voter registration or if the same-
day registrants will merely fill out a form and sign their name.
MR. OGAN responded that the voter must provide a rent receipt or
other sufficient proof in person and vote a questioned ballot.
3:02:19 PM
SENATOR MYERS referred to Section 23, lines 25-27, related to
early voting. He asked whether this provision switches early
voting stations to in-person absentee voting, making it a little
harder to vote. He stated his preference for preserving
anonymity, which was eroded by creating an envelope. He offered
his belief that early voting should use the same procedure as
regular in-person voting on Election Day. Thus, a person should
walk in, show identification, and receive their ballot.
MR. OGAN was unsure but believed that he filled out an absentee
ballot form when he was an early voter when he voted.
3:04:35 PM
SENATOR MYERS stated that he previously voted both absentee and
early voting. He noted that the Fairbanks North Star Borough
(FNSB) allows for early voting until a few days before the
election, then it switches to an in-person absentee voting. The
state allows early voting through Election Day and double checks
signatures against the voter rolls. He said the state does not
allow in-person absentee voting unless the voter requests it or
votes a questioned ballot.
3:05:33 PM
GAIL FENUMIAI, Director, Division of Elections, Juneau, Alaska,
responded that Senator Myers is correct that there are two
distinct processes for early voting and absentee in-person
voting. Early voting takes place in the Division of Election's
five regional offices. Absentee-in-person voting happens in the
non-regional offices. Some offices have multi-district ballots,
others have single-district sites, and some have ballots for all
40 districts. Those are strictly absentee-in-person locations.
It is considered early voting, but voters must fill out an
absentee-in person oath and voter certificates at polling
places, including at the airport, and the university. However,
those are strictly absentee in-person locations. It is voting
early, but voters must fill out the absentee-in-person oath and
voter certificates. Those documents are returned to the
division, and the voter's eligibility is determined once the
ballot is received and reviewed by the Absentee Review Board.
3:07:30 PM
SENATOR KIEHL asked about open-source software; he was only
aware of one company for voting tabulators. He wondered whether
the sponsor could provide names of other companies so he could
verify that the committee was not inadvertently writing in a
sole-source contract. He related his understanding that nothing
in the bill eliminates paper ballots for special needs voting
machines with voter-verifiable paper trails. He pointed out
everything in that process was re-countable and auditable.
SENATOR KIEHL wondered why the division would use open-source
software if it is not the best software. He suggested that if it
crashes more often, it could create more hiccups that must be
verified, potentially decreasing voter confidence. He suggested
the state should use the best software, then check and verify
the results.
3:09:08 PM
SENATOR SHOWER offered to provide the number of the open-source
software companies. He noted the one company he heard from still
needed to obtain federal certification. He indicated he
consistently heard the public impression was that the current
company lacks transparency since its algorithm is proprietary.
He noted the lack of transparency in the election process was
one of the most problematic concerns. He acknowledged that some
of the concerns were based on national conspiracy theories. The
Division of Elections said the state would need to go through
Dominion to obtain data pre-election and post-election, which is
proprietary information. However, that information would be
available with an open-source company and given to citizens who
want it.
3:12:32 PM
CHAIR HOLLAND held SB 39 in committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 229 version G.pdf |
SJUD 4/11/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 229 |
| SB 229 Summary of Changes (version G).pdf |
SJUD 4/11/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 229 |
| SB 229 Amendment G.1.pdf |
SJUD 4/11/2022 1:30:00 PM |
SB 229 |
| HB 157 Amendment #4 (G.4).pdf |
SJUD 4/11/2022 1:30:00 PM |
HB 157 |