HB 21-VOTER PREREGISTRATION FOR MINORS  3:16:00 PM CHAIR CARRICK announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 21, "An Act relating to voter preregistration for minors at least 16 years of age; and relating to confidentiality of voter registration and preregistration records of minors at least 16 years of age." 3:16:51 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY, as prime sponsor, introduced HB 21. She asked everybody to think about HB 21 as a way to increase civic engagement and impart knowledge about the voting process by allowing 16-year-old Alaskans to pre-register to vote. She said that they would still need to be 18 to vote but this proposed bill would allow pre-registration. She said that voting is fundamental to a healthy democracy for both the state and country and getting the youth started is important. She said that across the nation, young people aged 16-29 typically have the lowest voter turnout of any age group. She said that many adults complain about a lack of civics education for the youth, and this results in a lack of knowledge of government and causes reduced participation in voting. She said that currently in Alaska, 90 days before the 18th birthday, youth are allowed to pre-register to vote. She said that at this time many youths are pre-occupied with graduation, post-secondary education, and work decisions. She said that finding the time to pre-register during this time can be difficult. She said that HB 21 seeks to address these concerns by allowing 16-year-olds to pre-register and allow access to the voting process. REPRESENTATIVE STORY said that at 16 years old, most youth are living at home and attending school, often taking a government class. She opined that this is an opportune time to ensure the youth have the support they need to pre-register for voting. She said that research suggests that when youth are pre- registered to vote, they are more likely to participate in future voting matters and those who vote develop a habit to keep voting. She said states like Florida, Louisiana, California, and Colorado have already implemented youth voter pre- registration and have seen an increased youth voter turnout. She said that this bill would follow federal law and automatically provide an opportunity to register youth when receiving a driver's license at the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). She said allowing the opportunity to pre-register during this time would allow for easy access. She said the confirmation postage would be mailed out 45 days before their 18th birthday to confirm voter details. She explained the process to the committee members regarding confirming pre- registered voters. REPRESENTATIVE STORY said that this bill also would correct a flaw that currently is in statute. She said HB 21 would establish that the address and telephone numbers for anyone under 18 shall remain confidential and not be subject to public view. She said that currently, 17-year-olds who pre-register do not have this confidentiality. She said in conclusion that HB 21 would allow access and civic opportunities for the next generation to participate in democracy and this bill would bolster state participation in voting. 3:21:57 PM HONOUR MILLER AUSTIN, Staff, Representative Andi Story, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Story, prime sponsor, presented the sectional analysis [included in the committee file] for HB 21, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Section 1: Adds new subsection (b) to AS 15.07.040 to allow a person to preregister to vote if the person: • Is at least 16 years of age; and • Under 18 years of age; and • Provides required information for voter registration already in statute, with the replacement of a voter registration declaration, supplemented with a declaration that the person will be 18 years of age or older within two years after the date of preregistration. Also adds new subsection (c) to AS 15.07.040 which designates that the division shall register a person who has preregistered to vote under AS 15.07.040 which designates that the division shall register a person who has a preregistered to vote under AS 15.07.040 (b) 90 days before the person turns 18 years of age and forward them a registration card. Section 2: Amends AS 15.07.195 to add new subsection (e) to read, • The address and telephone number of a person under 18 years of age who registers or preregisters to vote are confidential. 3:23:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked if there was a plan regarding outreach to 16-year-olds that would now qualify for pre- registration and have this option. REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that some of the invited testimonies could help address this question and that there is some education that would need to be done but there currently was no funding in the proposed bill for that. REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked whether somebody who is pre- registered would receive information pertaining to elections such as pamphlets even though they wouldn't be old enough to vote. REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that an invited testifier could better address this question. 3:26:09 PM CAROL BEECHER, Director, Division of Elections, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, in response to Representative Hollands question regarding pamphlets, said that currently these types of items are sent to voter households, and if anybody living in that household was eligible to vote, then material would be sent. 3:26:41 PM REPRESENTATIVE MOORE asked if the proposed bill would exacerbate problems with the current and problematic voter roll. REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that Ms. Beecher could best answer this question. MS. BEECHER responded that this group of pre-registered voters would not be part of the list due to the confidentiality component of the bill and would not be considered eligible voters until they turned 18. REPRESENTATIVE MOORE asked if a system was in place to keep track of these voters and whether they were eligible to vote when 18. MS. BEECHER said that the Division of Elections anticipates handling this in the same fashion as 17-year-olds when pre- registered. She said that they would be on the pre-registration list until the system recognizes that they are soon to turn 18 and after they would be sent information to confirm the voter details. REPRESENTATIVE MOORE asked for confirmation that this is not part of the bill yet, this process. MS. BEECHER responded that it is correct. REPRESENTATIVE STORY added that an amendment was coming to ensure that this happened. 3:29:04 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE remarked that she had been advancing the work to clean up voter rolls. She understood that the Municipality of Anchorage and the Municipality of Juneau rely on the rolls from the Division of Elections. She asked how the proposed bill would impact the automatic distribution of ballots for mail-in votes. MS. BEECHER responded that she was not entirely familiar with what the municipalities do when they send things out. She said that another testifier could better address this question. 3:30:08 PM MICHAELA THOMPSON, Division Operations Manager, Division of Elections, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, said that the division would only give the municipalities a list of active voters and underage voter information would not be included. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE stated that there were ongoing concerns about Alaskans who received ballots for previous tenants who are still on the roll but not at the address. She asked what assurances can be given to ensure that this issue would not occur. MS. THOMPSON said this question could best be answered by Ms. Beecher. MS. BEECHER said that the way the current bill is written does not include 16-year-olds on the list that would be accessible to the municipalities. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked how much time Ms. Beecher foresees the Division of Elections needing to maintain this increase in pre-registration. MS. BEECHER responded that the Division of Elections is in the process of redoing its voter registration system and this is a big reason why this proposed bill has a zero fiscal note. She said if the bill passes then it would be built into the system. She said the voter roll transfer would be triggered by a birthdate. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked what happens if the pre-registered voters do not reply to information that confirms voter details. MS. BEECHER responded that if an individual did not reply then they would not be registered for voting. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked Representative Story what the overall purpose of the bill is; she said that nothing prohibits 17-year- olds from registering in advance to vote by their 18th birthday. She said that currently the voter roll was in the process of getting cleaned up and questioned adding more names to the roll. REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that these youth are in a pending status. She said these names would be confidential and the bill would ensure confidentiality for 17-year-olds as well by closing a loophole. She said the whole intent of the proposed bill, much like the other states that have passed legislation, is to make younger people more aware of the voting process. She reiterated that before the 18th birthday, a lot of upcoming voting candidates are busy. She said that HB 21 seeks to strengthen democracy and that the other states that do this see an increase in younger people voting. She said that she doesn't see it as adding to the voter rolls because they are in pending status. 3:36:09 PM REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked for clarification regarding the process for fully registering a pre-registered voter. He asked whether pre-registered voters who turn 18, receive confirmation paperwork or are automatically enrolled. REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that a card is mailed prior to voting eligibility, and this would enroll voters. She said that if pre-registered voters moved or were not eligible then they would not be enrolled. MS. BEECHER added that this was part of the proposed amendment and not currently in the bill. She said the process for current 17-year-olds is that they can pre-register 90 days before an election and when they do this the Division of Elections sends a voter registration card and after completing this card, they would be placed in the voter registration system. 3:39:21 PM REPRESENTATIVE MOORE asked Representative Story, given research on other states using pre-registration processes, whether there had been any issues with pre-registered voters trying to vote early and would there be a penalty. REPRESENTATIVE STORY responded that they couldn't vote before 18 because they would not get a voter card, and they would need to be 18 to receive the card. She said that she hadn't heard of other states that had issues but could reach out. 3:40:20 PM CHAIR CARRICK transitioned to invited testimony. 3:41:06 PM MARION CLOUGH, Member, League of Women Voters, gave invited testimony in support of HB 21. She said that the League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization, and its position is to encourage the maximum interest and participation in the electoral process. The group believes that HB 21 would increase civic engagement and encourage participation in the voting process. She said that pre-registration creates good voting habits by allowing a young person to be involved in civic education early and while still living at home. She said the proposed bill would also help eliminate barriers to voting and would allow young people to have a confident voice. The League of Women's Voters promotes civic education and not who or what to vote for but how to vote. She said an example of one of the nonpartisan programs supported by the League of Women Voters is the Juneau's Capitol Students, Capitol Visits. She said this is an opportunity for students to learn about various government operations and allow them to learn about the procedures associated with the legislature. Pre-registering youth at 16 can ease the process and allow them to become an active and engaged voter. 3:43:39 PM AMY GALLAWAY, Retired Fairbanks Civics Teacher, gave an invited testimony in support of HB 21. She said allowing nonpartisan early voter registration can empower students to be more engaged citizens by demystifying the registration process. She said it can also make the registration process more relevant for students because it then can be paired with increased school and family support. She said that for 25 years she taught the election process to high school students from all walks of life and one experience they all had in common was the confusion regarding the voting process. She said complexities in the system can be addressed by adding pre-registration processes. She said that while employed as a teacher, the school held multiple registration drives each year. She said that last year in her Alaska Studies Class, when talking about local elections, she always had assignments where students needed to go home and talk about what they were learning. She said that three students told her that they took their parents to the polls and for one student, their mother had never voted in a local election before. She said that her students got their parents to the poll. She said to imagine if a pre-registration process could engage parental voters as well. She concluded by stating that doing civics in school and having pre-registration would increase voter engagement. 3:47:36 PM MADISON ARREOLA, Anchorage Youth Vote, gave invited testimony in support of HB 21. She said that voting is a powerful tool to determine how people want democracy to be lead. She said that democracy is a value that means something to everyone and not just adults. She said that allowing everyone access to vote is what matters. She said that voters aged 18-29 have the lowest voter turnout of any age group. She said that everyone in that age group has a right to vote and asked why this was the case. She said that allowing 16-year-olds to preregister would allow this age group to have a voice. 3:49:50 PM CHAIR CARRICK announced that HB 21 was held over.