Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
05/09/2007 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB162 | |
| SB171 | |
| HB92 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 162 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 171 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 92 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SJR 9 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 162 - VOTING BY MAIL
9:05:59 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced consideration of SB 162.
SENATOR GREEN moved to adopt committee substitute (CS) to SB
162, labeled 25-LS0667\M, as a working draft. Hearing no
objections, Version M was before the committee.
JOANNE SCHMIDT, Staff, to Senator Kim Elton, introduced the bill
to the committee. The bill gives the Division of Elections and
voters another option for casting votes by establishing that a
general election may be conducted by mail. She said there are a
variety of benefits to vote by mail which may include giving
parents with small children, seniors, or the disabled the
ability to participate in an election without having to leave
their homes. Oregon has reported an increase from 53 percent to
89 percent voter turnout in its vote by mail general elections.
Voter turnout in Alaska is about 23 percent, which is the
standard national average. By mail voting is estimated to cost
one-third to one-half less than polling place elections, an
average of $4.30 per vote by polling, and $1.23 by mail.
9:07:56 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said he has concerns with fraud with the vote by
mail system.
9:08:45 AM
MS. SCHMIDT replied that security measures could be implemented.
Oregon has been very successful preventing fraud by using
security envelopes and matching signatures which minimize
tampering. Vote by mail came about after the computer-based
election systems used in Florida proved to be terribly
fraudulent. This bill would not prevent voters from casting
ballots at polls.
SENATOR BUNDE asked for clarification of Oregon's increased
voter turnout numbers, and if polling places in Alaska remained
the same how vote by mail would save money.
9:11:10 AM
MS. SCHMIDT answered that at the beginning Oregon's voter
turnout was 23 percent just like the national average. Over a
five year period of vote by mail the number went up to 59
percent and finally last year to 89 percent, which is
unprecedented in the nation. This bill would allow the Division
of Elections to make the decision to hold an election by mail.
If they choose to do so, it would be up to them whether or not
to remove some of the polling places and federal regulations
provide that a polling place cannot be arbitrarily removed,
particularly in rural communities.
SENATOR BUNDE said there are rural communities with very high
voter turnout. He asked if the Division of Elections asked for
this legislation.
MS. SCHMIDT answered no but they don't oppose it either. The
heart of the legislation is a desire to get people involved in
the democratic process.
SENATOR BUNDE said voter participation in his district is over
60 percent.
9:12:53 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked what the difference is between a person
asking for an absentee ballot, which they can do now, and voting
by mail.
MS. SCHMIDT answered that every registered voter with a valid
address would be mailed a ballot, rather than just by request.
9:13:51 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said he is more of a proponent of this idea than
he thought. Experience shows that vote by mail gets more people
involved in the democratic process. He is not aware of any
instance of voter fraud from vote by mail that has produced an
adverse election result. He believes this is a way to get more
people voting and he enthusiastically supports the bill.
SENATOR BUNDE said he supports more people involved in the
voting process, but doesn't think this bill achieves that goal.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said she also has concerns about fraud and the
idea of block voting. Block voting can occur when someone is
mailed a ballot, doesn't know the issues or the candidates, and
asks their neighbors for opinions. This concerns her, because
when a vote is cast it should mean something. The act of asking
for a ballot says something. Also, if a voter is being pressured
by a family member to vote a certain way, a polling place may
provide relief from that pressure.
9:18:02 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said he thought it would be relatively easy to
vote another person's ballot and wondered if that was of concern
to the Division of Elections.
JASON HOOLEY, Special Assistant, Office of the Lieutenant
Governor, Juneau, said the integrity of the voting process and
preventing fraud are the greatest concerns.
SENATOR BUNDE asked why the Division of Elections didn't propose
this type of process previously.
MR. HOOLEY answered that to his knowledge the division and the
bill sponsor have not talked a great deal about the legislation.
He believes the division would like more time to collaborate
with the sponsor to further understand the intentions of the
bill. Voter participation and engagement and increasing turnout
are shared goals.
9:21:10 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE said she would like to see an analysis of where
voters have found difficulty requesting an absentee ballot. She
believes that the ability to vote at home makes the difference
for some between voting or not. She wondered if there were other
options considered that would increase voter access by mail.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked for clarification of the methods used in
Oregon to prevent voter fraud.
MS. SCHMIDT answered that in Oregon the ballot is first placed
in a secrecy envelope then placed inside another envelope. The
outside envelope is signed by the voter, which is then matched
to the signature on the voter's registration form.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the bill will be held over so that the
sponsor and the Division of Elections can discuss the
legislation. She said Alaska's overall voter turnout number is
dismal, and she is especially concerned about the lack of young
people voting.
9:24:03 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said many people don't vote because they don't
feel prepared. Not voting is also a right. He would like to see
more voter turnout by informed voters.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said she would like to hear information on the
repeated argument that increasing voter turnout results in more
Democrats voting.
MS. SCHMIDT said quite a bit of research was done in Oregon and
they found that Republicans and Democrats favored voting by mail
equally. This was also true for males and females. Additionally,
when a voter has the opportunity to spend more time thinking
about whom they're voting for, if they have their ballot for a
couple weeks and can read the voter pamphlet they may likely be
more informed.
9:26:37 AM
MITCHELL GAY, Delta Junction, said he is forming a group called
Alaska Liberty and Freedom Movement and his greatest concern
with the bill is the possibility of voter fraud. Another problem
he sees with vote by mail has to do with Alaska's large military
and temporary worker population. Many of these people register
to vote to establish residency and don't take the time to go to
the polls for an election, but a vote by mail system would
change that. Even though they are registered voters they are not
permanent Alaska residents so their votes would not reflect what
permanent residents feel. Vote by mail would create issues and
conflicts particularly in this area. His group is creating a
petition addressing mail-in voting in his region. He believes
most people in his area would be against vote by mail in any
form except for absentee voting.
9:29:22 AM
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked for clarification of the changes his group
is proposing in its petition.
MR. GAY answered there is almost equal numbers of temporary and
permanent residents in his area and a mail-in vote on borough
issues would not truly represent the residents there.
CHAIR MCGUIRE set SB 162 aside for further discussion.
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