Legislature(2003 - 2004)
04/29/2004 08:04 AM House STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 523-VOTERS/VOTING/POLITICAL PARTIES/ELECTIONS Number 0700 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH announced that the last order of business was HOUSE BILL NO. 523, "An Act relating to qualifications of voters, voter registration, voter residence, precinct boundary modification, recognized political parties, voters unaffiliated with political parties, early voting, absentee voting, ballot counting, voting by mail, initiative, referendum, recall, and definitions; and providing for an effective date." [In the following testimony by Mr. Thompson, he refers to the committee substitute (CS) for HB 523, Version 23-GH2021\X, Kurtz, 4/26/04, which is not yet adopted by the committee as a work draft.] Number 0724 MYRL THOMPSON, Chairman, Ogan is So Gone recall, directed the committee's attention to page 17, line 25. He asked why the words "[UPON CERTIFYING]" are being replaced by the word "If". He mentioned reading the 28-page report by John Sedor - the independent counsel hired by the State of Alaska to look in to the Ogan is So Gone recall. One of the tenets in that report was that no hurdles or encumbrances should be put upon the process. He indicated that [the proposed language change] seems to be a weakening of the original intent of the recall. MR. THOMPSON revealed that a few hundred people who were registered voters and met all the qualifications of voters according to state statute seemed to have been not qualified for the petition [for the Ogan is So Gone recall]. He surmised the reason is because some registered voters have moved and have not submitted a change of address to the Division of Elections. He stated his belief that by signing a petition and providing their address on that petition, these folks are actually showing participation in the electoral process. He suggested an amendment should be introduced to remedy that situation. He offered his understanding that if he were in Juneau during election time and wanted to vote, he could fill out a question ballot. He noted that that type of option was not available to registered voters who wanted to sign the recall petition but were outside the area in which they were registered. Number 0972 REPRESENTATIVE HOLM asked, "They were disqualified for what reason?" MR. THOMPSON answered that "they aren't currently registered in District H, even though they ... are living in District H and they are qualified voters. He suggested that the director of the Division of Elections might be able to further explain. REPRESENTATIVE HOLM stated, "If you have a residency requirement to live within a district so you vote within a district, it doesn't seem reasonable that you would come from another district and go into another district ... and want to change the makeup of that district without being a resident." MR. THOMPSON clarified that those people are not residents of the previous district; they have moved. REPRESENTATIVE HOLM responded that they wouldn't be disqualified as residents then. MR. THOMPSON said they seemed to have been [disqualified]. He said he talked to a number of those people who said they are qualified voters. In response to a comment from Representative Holm, he emphasized that he is not referring to someone who would come from District H to District J, for example, disrupt the management of that district, and then move back into District H again. REPRESENTATIVE HOLM offered his understanding that state law requires that a person has to change his/her registration when he/she moves. He concluded, "Therefore, it's inherent upon you to change your registration so that you can exercise your right to vote. It's not inherent upon the state to back up on the other side of that and say, 'Oh, yeah, you meant to do it, but you didn't do it.'" MR. THOMPSON stated that, considering the current low voter participation rate, anything that enhances voter participation in elections is "probably where we should be going," as opposed to doing anything that excludes qualified voters from voting. REPRESENTATIVE HOLM emphasized that the voter is nonqualified if he/she is not registered. In response to Mr. Thompson, he specified that the voters in question [who were not allowed to sign the petition] may be registered in one district, but are not qualified if they are not registered in the district in which they want to vote. MR. THOMPSON reiterated that he doesn't like to see hundreds of people who want to be involved in the process be disenfranchised. Number 1166 REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said, "They're disenfranchised by their own inaction." Number 1174 JIM SYKES, Election Specialist, Green Party of Alaska, brought attention to his written testimony [included in the committee packet]. He noted that [at a previous hearing on HB 523] the issue of reducing the percentage required for a registration test produced some questions, which he said he would address now. He noted that the handout shows that only a handful of states have both a vote test and a registration test, and "in every other case, the registration test is far, far below what the vote test is." MR. SYKES said Representative Coghill had asked how hard it is to get a signature for a nominating petition. He reported that Richard Winger, Publisher, Ballot Access News, said that, by far, the easiest requirement to get is a vote test; getting a vote is easier than getting a signature for a nominating petition, but getting a signature on a petition is "about seven times easier than getting somebody to register to a political party." He said he has only been able to find three political parties anywhere in the United States that have an excess of one percent of the registered voters in that state. He said he is trying to emphasize that a 1-percent registration test is high in itself and a 3-percent [registration test] is unreasonably high. MR. SYKES mentioned a poll that revealed the number of people "registering away from political parties" is currently 39 percent, whereas it was 37 percent in 1979. He stated, "If this is a trend going on today, it makes the requirement of registering anybody to a particular political party much more difficult." In Alaska, he said, there has been a majority of people not registered to any political party for a long time - a fact that hasn't changed. He concluded, "If we're going to have a registration requirement, it should be reasonable. It's good public policy, and I urge your support for this amendment, and I think we'll all be better off for it." Number 1325 REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, regarding Mr. Thompson's previously stated concerns regarding the language change on page 17, line 25, offered his understanding that the change "just updates it to current style." Number 1373 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH announced he was closing public testimony. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN asked Mr. Sykes where Richard Winger is from. MR. SYKES offered his belief that Mr. Winger publishes his newsletter from San Francisco. Number 1429 LAURA GLAISER, Director, Division of Elections, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, responding to Representative Gruenberg's comment, confirmed that the language in question was a drafting change to "clean and conform as we proceeded in our promise to make the petition process clear in initiatives, referendum, and recall." REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he would be willing to work on Mr. Thompson's concern regarding those registered voters who cannot sign a petition outside of the district in which they are registered. Number 1458 REPRESENTATIVE WEYHRAUCH moved to adopt the committee substitute (CS) for HB 523, Version 23-GH2021\X, Kurtz, 4/26/04, as a work draft. REPRESENTATIVE HOLM objected. Number 1537 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH moved to adopt Amendment 1, labeled 23- GH2021\X.5, Kurtz, 4/27/04, which read as follows: Page 3, following line 30: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 3. AS 15.07.127 is amended to read: Sec. 15.07.127. Preparation of master register. The director shall prepare both a statewide list and a list by precinct of the names and addresses of all persons whose names appear on the master register and their political party affiliation. Subject to the limitations of 15.07.195(b), any [ANY] person may obtain a copy of the list, or a part of the list, or an electronic format containing both residence and mailing addresses of voters, by applying to the director and paying to the state treasury a fee as determined by the director." Page 23, line 15: Delete "23 - 46" Insert "24 - 47" Page 23, line 18: Delete "sec. 9" Insert "sec. 10" There being no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted. Number 1566 REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt Amendment 2, labeled 23- GH2021\X.3, Kurtz, 4/27/04, which read as follows: Page 11, line 26, through page 12, line 11: Delete all material and insert: "* Sec. 25. AS 15.45.090 is repealed and reenacted to read: Sec. 15.45.090. Preparation of petition. Within seven days after an application is certified, the lieutenant governor shall prepare a sufficient number of sequentially numbered petitions to allow full circulation throughout the state. Each petition shall contain (1) a copy of the proposed bill if the number of words included in both the formal and substantive provisions of the bill is 500 or less; (2) an impartial summary of the subject matter of the bill; (3) the warning prescribed in AS 15.45.100; (4) sufficient space for printed name, date of birth, signature, and address of each person signing the petition; (5) sufficient space at the bottom of each signature page for the information required by AS 15.45.130(8); and (6) other specifications prescribed by the lieutenant governor to ensure proper handling and control." Page 14, lines 11 - 30: Delete all material and insert: "* Sec. 32. AS 15.45.320 is repealed and reenacted to read: Sec. 15.45.320. Preparation of petition. Within seven days after an application is certified, the lieutenant governor shall prepare a sufficient number of sequentially numbered petitions to allow full circulation throughout the state. Each petition shall contain (1) a copy of the act to be referred, if the number of words included in both the formal and substantive provisions of the bill is 500 or less; (2) the statement of approval or rejection; (3) an impartial summary of the subject matter of the act; (4) the warning prescribed in AS 15.45.330; (5) sufficient space for the printed name, date of birth, signature, and address of each person signing the petition; (6) sufficient space at the bottom of each page for the information required by AS 15.45.360(8); and (7) other specifications prescribed by the lieutenant governor to ensure proper handling and control." Page 17, line 24, through page 18, line 10: Delete all material and insert: "* Sec. 40. AS 15.45.560 is repealed and reenacted to read: Sec. 15.45.560. Preparation of petition. Within seven days after an application is certified, the director shall prepare a sufficient number of sequentially numbered petitions to allow full circulation throughout the state. Each petition shall contain (1) the name and office of the person to be recalled; (2) the statement of the grounds for recall included in the application; (3) the statement of warning required in AS 15.45.570; (4) sufficient space for the printed name, date of birth, signature, and address of each person signing the petition; (5) sufficient space at the bottom of each page for the information required by AS 15.45.600(8); and (6) other specifications prescribed by the director to ensure proper handling and control." Number 1582 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH objected. The committee took an at-ease from 10:11 a.m. to 10:13 a.m. Number 1595 REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG indicated that Amendment 2 is a conforming amendment that he tried to make consistent with other language. CHAIR WEYHRAUCH expressed uncertainty towards Amendment 2. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said that if "Within seven days" is a problem, it can be deleted. MS. GLAISER responded as follows: To be clear, the seven days is only on the referendum currently in state law. It's okay with us. We got the recall out in three or four days. We normally turn around a petition -- as you can guess, the people that carry petitions are very anxious. You know, we don't delay at that section; if there's ever a delay, it's in a legal interpretation ... when an application is filed, which we don't have control over. MS. GLAISER indicated that it is up to the committee to decide if [seven days] is a reasonable amount of time to prepare a petition. CHAIR WEYHRAUCH interjected, "If we believe it's a reasonable amount of time is irrelevant." MS. GLAISER explained, "Well, this onus is now on [the] lieutenant governor, so I can't speak ... for the lieutenant governor's office." She told Chair Weyhrauch that "the seven days" is on the referendum section. She stated, "It is a policy call .... If you want to conform them all and do the seven days ..., that's correct; it would be conforming language to the other sections where a group petitions their government." Number 1822 REPRESENTATIVE SEATON indicated that conformity would be beneficial. Number 1841 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH [moved to adopt] Amendment 1 to Amendment 2, as follows: On page 1, beginning on line 4 [as numbered on the Amendment 2]: Delete "Within seven days after an application is certified," Change the "t" to "T" at the beginning of the next sentence. CHAIR WEYHRAUCH asked if there was any objection to Amendment 1 to Amendment 2. There being none, it was so ordered. Number 1885 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH moved to adopt Amendment 2 to Amendment 2, as follows: On page 2, beginning on line 18 [as numbered on Amendment 2]: Delete "Within seven days after an application is certified;" Change the "t" to "T" at the beginning of the next sentence. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG objected. CHAIR WEYHRAUCH asked Ms. Glaiser to confirm that "you could do that, but you're not doing that." MS. GLAISER answered that's correct. She added, "You would be adding to law a date certain." Number 1921 A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Coghill, Lynn, Holm, Seaton, and Weyhrauch voted in favor of Amendment 2 to Amendment 2. Representative Gruenberg voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 2 to Amendment 2 was adopted by a vote of 5-1. Number 1940 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH removed his objection to Amendment 2 [as amended]. He asked if there was any further objection to Amendment 2 [as amended]. There being none, Amendment 2, as amended, was adopted. Number 1984 REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt Amendment 3, labeled 23- GH2021\X.1, Kurtz, 4/26/04, which read as follows: Page 22, line 8: Delete "three" Insert "one [THREE]" CHAIR WEYHRAUCH objected. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG stated that there is no reason that parties should have to "run candidates for major offices" simply to remain on the ballot. He said it's an imposition on a party's voters, on the party itself, and on the party candidate. Number 2004 A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Lynn and Gruenberg voted in favor of Amendment 3. Representatives Holm, Seaton, Coghill, and Weyhrauch voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 3 failed by a vote of 2-4. Number 2030 REPRESENTATIVE LYNN moved to adopt Amendment 4, labeled 23- GH2021\X.6, Kurtz, 4/27/04, which read as follows: Page 3, following line 30: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 3. AS 15.07.127 is amended to read: Sec. 15.07.127. Preparation of master register. The director shall prepare both a statewide list and a list by precinct of the names, [AND] addresses, and, when available, telephone numbers of all persons whose names appear on the master register and their political party affiliation. Subject to the limitations in 15.07.195(b), any [ANY] person may obtain a copy of the list, or a part of the list, or an electronic format containing both residence and mailing addresses of voters by applying to the director and paying to the state treasury a fee as determined by the director. A candidate who has filed for office under AS 15.25 may obtain a copy of the list, or a part of the list, containing telephone numbers, when available, as well as names and addresses." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 4, line 7: Delete all material. Renumber the following paragraphs accordingly. Page 4, line 11: Delete "and" Insert "," Following "address": Insert ", and telephone number" Page 4, lines 13 - 14: Delete "the voter's name and address" Insert "this information" Page 23, line 15: Delete "23 - 46" Insert "24 - 47" Page 23, line 18: Delete "sec. 9" Insert "sec. 10" CHAIR WEYHRAUCH objected. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN explained that Amendment 4 would facilitate the process of political candidates being able to contact the electorate, which would enhance communication between the two. Number 2070 REPRESENTATIVE SEATON objected to Amendment 4. He said he thinks that "putting phone numbers out is just asking for all the voters to become a call list for telemarketers." He indicated that the information could be obtained from phone books and voter lists. The committee took an at-ease from 10:25 a.m. to 10:28 a.m. Number 2120 A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Gruenberg and Lynn voted in favor of Amendment 4. Representatives Holm, Seaton, and Weyhrauch voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 4 failed by a vote of 2-3. Number 2157 MS. GLAISER indicated there were some inconsistencies in conforming language, regarding changes offered by Representative Gruenberg: Page 12, line 30, read "the circulator signing the affidavit"; and page 16, beginning on line 1, and page 19, beginning on line 18, read "the person signing the affidavit". Ms. Glaiser recommended that the language should read either "the circulator" in all three places or "the person". Number 2190 REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt Amendment 5, as follows: On page 12, line 30 Between "the" and "signing" Delete "circulator" Insert "person" REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG explained that "circulator" was a typographical error. CHAIR WEYHRAUCH announced that, there being no objection, Amendment 5 was adopted. Number 2224 MS. GLAISER drew focus to page 13, lines 11-15 and asked the committee to compare the language between those lines and the lines on page 16, lines 13-17. She said the language is different and should be conforming. MS. GLAISER also noted that Representative Gruenberg had asked whether ballot rotation would affect municipalities and boroughs. She stated that there are municipalities and boroughs whose code references state law; therefore, they would be required to do ballot rotation if the state law was changed. She continued as follows: In addition, the way this language is written, we would do ballot rotation on REA and CSRA elections, as well, because it just says "in any contested race". Number 2267 REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG responded, "It was not my intent to do that, and we'll see if we can come up with something to eliminate local people on [this]." CHAIR WEYHRAUCH announced that the committee would return to HB 523. Number 0060 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH moved to adopt Amendment 6, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Page 5, line 16: Insert "in a state primary or general election" following the word "office" CHAIR WEYHRAUCH asked if there was any objection to Amendment 6. There being no objection, Amendment 6 was adopted. Number 0070 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH moved to adopt Amendment 7, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Page 16, lines 13-17: Delete all material and insert the following: (8) if the circulator has received payment or agreed to receive payment for the collection of signatures on the petition, before circulating the petition, the circulator prominently place, in the space provided under AS 15.45.320(6), the name of each person or organization that has paid or agreed to pay the circulator for collection of signatures on the petition. Page 19, line 30 to Page 20, line 3: Delete all material and insert the following: (8) if the circulator has received payment or agreed to receive payment for the collection of signatures on the petition, before circulating the petition, the circulator prominently placed, in the space provided under AS 15.45.560(5), the name of each person or organization that has paid or agreed to pay the circulator for collection of signatures on the petition. Number 0084 MS. GLAISER indicated that if [Amendment 7] is adopted, it would put referendum and recall "at the same place." Number 0164 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH asked if there was any objection to Amendment 7. There being none, Amendment 7 was adopted. Number 0175 CHAIR WEYHRAUCH moved to adopt Amendment 8, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Page 22, lines 22-23: Delete all material. Number 0185 MS. GLAISER explained that Amendment 8 would remove the reference to statewide office, because the term is no longer [in the proposed legislation due to foregoing amendments made by the committee]. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG stated he had no objection [to Amendment 8]. CHAIR WEYHRAUCH announced that, there being no objection to Amendment 8, it was so ordered. Number 0286 REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to report HB 523, Version 23- GH2021\X, Kurtz, 4/26/04, [as amended], out of committee [with individual recommendations and any accompanying fiscal notes]. There being no objection, CSHB 523(STA) was moved out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.
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