02/04/2025 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS

                         SB  64-ELECTIONS                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:35:11 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  KAWASAKI   reconvened  the   meeting  and   announced  the                                                               
consideration  of  SENATE  BILL  NO.   64  "An  Act  relating  to                                                               
elections; relating  to voters;  relating to voting;  relating to                                                               
voter  preregistration  for minors  at  least  16 years  of  age;                                                               
relating  to voter  registration; relating  to the  Alaska Public                                                               
Offices    Commission;   relating    to   synthetic    media   in                                                               
electioneering  communications;   relating  to   campaign  signs;                                                               
relating to  public official  financial disclosures;  relating to                                                               
the crime of unlawful interference with voting in the first                                                                     
degree; and providing for an effective date."                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:35:43 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI opened public testimony on SB 64.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:36:03 PM                                                                                                                    
SUE SHERRIF, President, League of Women Voters of Alaska                                                                        
(LWVAK), Fairbanks, Alaska, testified in support of SB 64. She                                                                  
read the following written testimony:                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
[Original punctuation provided.]                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     We  highlight three  provisions of  the bill  that will                                                                    
     offer  the   State  Division  of  Elections   means  of                                                                    
     improving the likelihood that a  citizen's vote will be                                                                    
     counted at relatively low or no cost to the State:                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     1.Prepaid  postage for  absentee  and mail-in  ballots.                                                                  
     The fact  that some  ballots require more  postage than                                                                    
     the   standard   stamp,   that   fewer   people   today                                                                    
     communicate  by  traditional  mail  and  may  not  have                                                                    
     stamps on hand,  and that postal service  in many areas                                                                    
     of the state  is contracted and may  have limited hours                                                                    
     of service,  while in other  communities there  may not                                                                    
     be local  sales of postage  stamps at all,   means that                                                                    
     this proposal  is a  low-cost way  to easily  erase one                                                                    
     obstacle in the voting process.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     2.Elimination   of   the  signature   requirement   for                                                                  
     absentee   and  mail-in   ballots.   The  Division   of                                                                  
     Elections should  use its  resources to  verify voters'                                                                    
     identities and  should not  rely on  an often-illegible                                                                    
     signature of  a witness  who is  not identified  in any                                                                    
     other meaningful  way on the cover  envelope for mailed                                                                    
     ballots.  The   requirement  puts  up   an  unnecessary                                                                    
     barrier to  some people who  live by themselves  or who                                                                    
     may be  out of state  or country, and  this requirement                                                                    
     has  in  fact caused  the  rejection  of the  votes  of                                                                    
     otherwise eligible and qualified voters.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
     3.A ballot cure  process.  Such a  process would ensure                                                                  
     that the Division of Elections  looks for problems with                                                                    
     return envelope  identification information  before the                                                                    
     election   and,   like   24  other   states   and   the                                                                    
     Municipality of Anchorage, allows  voters the chance to                                                                    
     provide  missing  information  before their  votes  are                                                                    
     discarded.  Currently  the  work  of  the  Division  of                                                                    
     Elections to  identify problems is  already established                                                                    
     but  takes place  after the  election with  no recourse                                                                  
     for the voters when they  have been notified that their                                                                    
     vote did not count.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     These three  provisions along with  others in  the bill                                                                    
     will work  to make  voting more accessible  to Alaskans                                                                    
     who  wish to  vote  in the  elections  that the  Alaska                                                                    
     Division  of Elections  works so  diligently to  ensure                                                                    
     are safe and secure.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:40:00 PM                                                                                                                    
ED  MARTIN,  representing  self,  Kenai,  Alaska  testified  with                                                               
concerns on  SB 64. He  stated that first, there's  concern about                                                               
election   division  security   and  transparency,   particularly                                                               
regarding mail-in  ballots. He  urged the  legislature to  pass a                                                               
resolution  urging  the President  to  issue  an executive  order                                                               
assigning  postmasters  as   chain-of-custody  officers  for  all                                                               
ballots.  Second,  he  submitted  a Freedom  of  Information  Act                                                               
                                                                                                                                
(FOIA) request on November 2  emailed followed up questions about                                                               
WPX Security  and wants  an answer from  the Division.  Third, he                                                               
stated that  the election pamphlet  needs correcting. He  said he                                                               
had concerns  about precinct labeling discrepancies  for election                                                               
reporting.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:44:36 PM                                                                                                                    
BARBARA HANEY,  representing self, North Pole,  Alaska, testified                                                               
with  concerns on  SB 64.  She stated  that first,  the synthetic                                                               
media  section (page  22,  line  8) is  too  broad. This  section                                                               
should  be  reconsidered  or removedit's   not  the  Division  of                                                               
Elections'  role  and better  suited  for  Alaska Public  Offices                                                               
Commission (APOC). Second,  the signage limit (page  25, line 22)                                                               
is  unfair. Political  signs  are  capped at  32  sq. ft.,  while                                                               
others (like  business signs) can be  66 sq. ft. She  stated that                                                               
for  fair  political  visibility,  the size  limit  should  match                                                               
federal standards.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:50:25 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI  mentioned that the committee  had some discussion                                                               
on the synthetic media section of  the bill. He stated that there                                                               
are other  similar bills  moving through  the committee,  and the                                                               
committee  would  cover  artificial intelligence  in  more  depth                                                               
during  another meeting.  He  stated  that the  32  sq. ft.  sign                                                               
limit, ties  to an Alaska  Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)  case and                                                               
current billboard law.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:51:50 PM                                                                                                                    
RANDY RUEDRICH,  representing self, Anchorage,  Alaska, testified                                                               
with concerns on  SB 64. He stated that the  witness signature on                                                               
absentee and  mail-in ballots plays  a key role in  verifying the                                                               
voter's  identity  and without  it,  there's  no other  signature                                                               
verification in our process. He  stated that in the last election                                                               
there were  only 512 witness  signature issues so given  this low                                                               
rejection rate,  there's no need  for a complicated  cure process                                                               
that adds confusion and cost.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:56:38 PM                                                                                                                    
RITA TROMETTER, representing self,  North Pole, Alaska, testified                                                               
with  concerns on  SB 64.  She stated  that Section  38 seems  to                                                               
reject  progress. AI,  or  "synthetic media,"  is  a modern  tool                                                               
widely  used in  the 2024  general election.  She said  we should                                                               
evolve with technology, as we  do with computers. She stated that                                                               
Section 39 restricts  free speech by limiting  campaign sign size                                                               
on  private property.  A 32  sq. ft.  sign isn't  visible from  a                                                               
highway  if  it's set  back  for  beautification laws.  She  said                                                               
limiting signs  during campaign  season downplays  the election's                                                               
importance and  may conflict with  past court  rulings supporting                                                               
larger signs on private land.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:59:11 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR KAWASAKI held SB 64 in committee.