Legislature(1997 - 1998)
03/12/1998 09:10 AM Senate FIN
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE BILL NO. 185
"An Act relating to the maintenance of voter lists and
to the inactivation and cancellation of voter
registration; and providing for an effective date."
GAIL FENUMIAI, Election Program Specialist for the Division
of Elections, was invited to testify before the committee
concerning this legislation.
Ms. FENUMIAI addressed the intent of this bill, which is to
attempt to bring Alaska State law into compliance with the
National Voter Registration Act in the area of list
maintenance. The NVRA was passed in 1993 and since that
time the state has not been able to purge names from the
voter list. In 1996 an attempt was made to change the state
law and bring it into compliance, but the legislation did
not meet the standards imposed by the US Department of
Justice. Compliance is necessary to avoid a threatened
lawsuit authorized by the federal government in 1997. A
draft of the current bill has been sent to the Department of
Justice in hopes they would drop their lawsuit. An informal
agreement was received saying that if this legislation
passed, they would drop their lawsuit.
Ms. FENUMIAI described the process in which non-active
voters would be notified of their possible elimination from
the voting rolls. The first step would entail sending
address verification cards to all registered voters - both
active and inactive. Then in subsequent years, notices
would be sent to voters who have had no contact with the
Division of Elections. She listed the benefits of including
everybody in the initial mail-out: one, the list has not
been purged since 1993 and two, the Department of Justice is
offended by targeted mailings. In addition, implementation
of this law will save the state money in the long run.
Candidates and legislators will also realize cost savings
when doing mass mailings.
Voter turnout numbers would also be affected by passage of
this bill, bringing numbers into a realistic perspective.
According to the Department of Labor, Ms. FENUMIAI quoted,
Alaska's voting age population is about 418,000. Currently,
there are about 440,000 registered voters on the rolls.
Senator Phillips inquired as to whom would be mailed a
notice advising of deletion from the registered voter list.
Ms. FENUMIAI explained that notices would be mailed to
registered voters who had not made any actions to signify
intent to remain an active registered voter in Alaska. This
is defined as those who had not voted in the past two years;
or had not signed a petition; or had no contact with the DOE
either by making a change of address, inquiry of polling
place or other state business.
Senator Adams wanted assurance that passage of this
legislation would guarantee there would be no lawsuit on the
matter. Senator Donley pointed out that the filing, or not
filing of lawsuits can not be guaranteed because anyone is
able to file a lawsuit if they desire. Ms. FENUMIAI asked
that the Department of Law representative be allowed to
speak to this issue.
KATHLEEN STRASBAUGH, DOL was asked to join the committee.
She shared her communications with the Department of Justice
and told the committee that to her understanding, upon
passage of this legislation, the DOJ would withdraw the
pending lawsuit. She admitted that she has been unable to
get them to put it in writing. However, she said they have
a two-year backlog, which may be the cause of the delay.
She urged the committee against making any changed to the
bill saying that while she understands the concerns
regarding the costs involved with mailing notices to every
registered voter, it is a necessary expenditure to comply
with the DOJ's standards.
Senator Torgerson had questions about the fiscal note. He
wondered why the postage costs were so high and if the
mailing could be piggybacked onto another State mail-out.
He gave the annual Permanent Fund Dividend application mail-
out as an example. Ms. FENUMIAI explained that the mailing
is specific to registered voters and informed the committee
that a notice must be mailed to each voter. Other mail-
outs, such as the PFD, are sent to every household, which
may include more than one registered voter. She also talked
about a DOJ stipulation that requires the Division of
Elections to pay both the outgoing and the return postage.
Senator Torgerson asked why the fiscal note asked for
funding in years preceding FY99. Ms. Funumani cited the
need for the voter registration list to be continually
updated. She pointed out how the costs would significantly
drop after the first year.
There was further discussion about the schematics involved
in notifying in-active voters and the purging process. Ms.
Funumani detailed the steps the division would be taking to
send a notice to those registered voters who had not voted
in the last two general elections. This mail-out would be
sent via non-forward-able mail. If the notice is returned
showing a forwarding address, a second notice will be sent,
this time by forward-able mail to that address. Any notices
returned after the second mailing will be considered for
deletion from the voter list.
Senator Phillips wondered how Alaska stacked up to other
states in its transient nature. Ms. Funumani replied that
she didn't have data from other states for comparison
purposes, but she did note a high occurrence of first-issue
voter registration cards coming back to her office marked
"undeliverable".
Senator Adams asked to have SB 185 moved out of committee
with accompanying fiscal note. There was no objection to
this and Co-Chair Sharp so ordered.
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