HB 77-NONPARTISAN BLANKET PRIMARY ELECTION  8:56:29 AM CHAIR LYNN announced that the next order of business was SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 77, "An Act establishing a top two nonpartisan blanket primary election system for elective state executive and state and national legislative offices; changing appointment procedures relating to precinct watchers and members of precinct election boards, election district absentee and questioned ballot counting boards, and the Alaska Public Offices Commission; requiring certain written notices to appear in election pamphlets and polling places; relating to declarations of candidacy and letters of intent; and amending the definition of 'political party.'" 8:56:43 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, as joint prime sponsor, introduced SSHB 77. He said in the early days of statehood, Alaska used the black line primary ballot, which he explained was a ballot listing all Republican candidates on one side of the black line and all Democratic candidates on the other side. Voters could vote for anyone they chose, as long as they did not cross the black line. He said that system has come to be known as a classic open primary. One of the first bills passed by former Governor Hickel initiated an open primary, which Representative Gruenberg said was really a blanket primary, in which every voter could vote for any name on the ballot, regardless of political affiliation. 9:00:19 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said most Alaskans highly prize the right to vote for any candidate, and they had that right until about 1990, when a former member of the legislature came up with the theory that the Republicans had a right to close their primary, which happened by court rule. In approximately 1993, a man named, Mike O'Callaghan, challenged that court rule in a case that went up to the Alaska Supreme Court. Representative Gruenberg deferred further comment to Gail Fenumiai, the director of the Division of Elections. 9:04:52 AM GAIL FENUMIAI, Director, Division of Elections, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, in response to questions, said she is familiar with SSHB 77 and does not anticipate problems implementing the proposed law. She related the fiscal note reflects the reduction in the number of ballots that would have to be printed during a primary election, resulting in cost savings of about $34,000 each primary election. She said the provision in SSHB 77 that would require signage posted, which would state that designating party preference is a personal preference, would not create substantial cost to implement, because the division already posts information in each booth, and information could be added to that poster. Furthermore, she responded that she does not see a one-ballot primary style causing the division any difficulty. 9:09:28 AM MS. FENUMIAI, in response to Representative Seaton, said the 30- day requirement language on page 8, [lines 12-24], is existing language in AS 15.20.190(a). She said the new language in the bill addresses how candidates would advance to the general election ballot. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked a question related to the timing of primary and special elections and how that would affect the division. MS. FENUMIAI responded that she had received SSHB 77 late the previous night, and she requested time in which to research an answer for Representative Seaton. 9:11:29 AM LIBBY BAKALAR, Assistant Attorney General, Labor and State Affairs Section, Civil Division (Juneau), in response to Representative Gruenberg, said she has reviewed the following U.S. Supreme Court cases: Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party and California Democratic Party v. Jones. She stated that to the extent the proposed legislation is similar to the Washington State Grange case, it would survive a facial First Amendment federal challenge. 9:13:49 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON noted that there is language on page 18 of the proposed legislation, which he said seems to eliminate no- party candidates in the general election. He asked if that would have legal implications for Alaska. 9:14:37 AM MS. BAKALAR responded that she is not prepared to answer at this time, but offered to get back to the committee with an answer. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON requested an analysis from the Department of Law (DOL). MS. BAKALAR, in response to Chair Lynn, indicated that she would be able to provide the analysis. 9:15:14 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he would invite Alpheus Bullard, the bill drafter, to be present to answer questions, if the bill was heard again by the committee. 9:15:47 AM REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN said he thinks the constitutional issues being discussed should be vetted in the House Judiciary Standing Committee. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, in response to Representative Johansen, confirmed that currently, a registered Republican cannot vote the Democrat primary ballot and a registered Democrat cannot vote the Republican primary ballot. He continued as follows: Anybody can vote in ... the open ballot, even if you're a Republican. If you're a member of another party, you cannot vote in the Republican ballot; you can't go back and forth. The Republican can ... choose one or the other; if you're a member of another party, you cannot choose the Republican ballot. REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN asked who decides whether or not undeclared or nonpartisan voters can vote in the Republican primary. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG answered that it was the Republican Party that made the rule that allows nonpartisan and undeclared voters to choose one or the other ballot. In response to a follow-up question, he confirmed that the Democratic Party could make the same decision; political parties have a constitutional right to do so. In response to a follow-up comment, he confirmed that in the general election, any [registered voter] can vote for any candidate on the ballot. REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN asked if someone not affiliated with a party can file for election and run for State House. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG answered yes. REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN asked if anyone can vote for that person in any election. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he would need to ask Ms. Fenumiai to answer that question. REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN questioned why the joint sponsors of SSHB 77 would not want to allow a political party to control who is going to represent them. He said he does not understand the basic motivation for the proposed legislation. 9:20:45 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG responded as follows: The primary election determines who will represent the party. This changes it into a nonpartisan primary. The reason for that ... is because that's the only ... legal way to have a truly open ballot under the First Amendment right of association of the party. The two U.S. Supreme Court cases ... read together stand for the proposition that if the primary determines who the top vote getter for the Republicans and the top vote getter for the Democrats are - if that's the way it's set up - the parties have a constitutional right to determine the method of electing their representatives. Only if the primary election is nonpartisan can everybody get a ballot and vote back and forth whoever they want to. In that case, it is no longer a creature of the party, but it's a creature of the people. And our goal here ... is to restore to the greatest possible extent the right of the people to vote for anybody they want to. ... The reason for that is because many races are decided in the primary. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG concluded that the joint sponsors believe it is the right of the people to have that choice in their hands and that to give them that choice is constitutional. He noted that 60 percent voted in favor of this legislation in California. 9:24:27 AM REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN observed that while this is a subject that is being touted as nonpartisan, in the last fifteen minutes, there have been press releases and Twitter and Facebook references to "this" as being "a huge priority of the AlaskaDemocrats.com." REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he was not aware that the Democratic Party had taken a position [on this issue]. 9:25:20 AM CHAIR LYNN announced that SSHB 77 would be set aside. HB 77-NONPARTISAN BLANKET PRIMARY ELECTION  9:29:58 AM CHAIR LYNN announced that the committee would return to discussion of SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 77, "An Act establishing a top two nonpartisan blanket primary election system for elective state executive and state and national legislative offices; changing appointment procedures relating to precinct watchers and members of precinct election boards, election district absentee and questioned ballot counting boards, and the Alaska Public Offices Commission; requiring certain written notices to appear in election pamphlets and polling places; relating to declarations of candidacy and letters of intent; and amending the definition of 'political party.'" 9:30:35 AM REPRESENTATIVE SHARON CISSNA, Alaska State Legislature, as joint prime sponsor of HB 77, said in the 1990s, she was the Democratic co-chair alongside a Republican co-chair of Alaskan Voters for an Open Primary (AVOP), and Representative Gruenberg was the group's attorney. She said she witnessed the numbers of people in the 1990s crying for the right to express the independence of Alaskans. She said recently she has been hearing a constant request for an open primary. She related that some of her constituents have switched parties in order to vote on the closed ballot in primaries to shift the outcomes. She said, "It really works straight against what maybe a majority wants." She opined that an open primary would represent the people. 9:35:05 AM CHAIR LYNN said he thinks bills related to elections are the purview of the House State Affairs Standing Committee, and it is not uncommon for any bill heard by the committee to "wander into the purview of other committees ...." 9:35:38 AM REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN said he has been contacted by constituents angry that they were being restricted in terms of which ballot they could use, and those constituents did not want to switch parties to vote the other ballot. He echoed the previous remark that Alaskans are independent in how they register and vote, and they do not like to be restricted in any way. He relayed that several of his constituents have told him that they do not vote in the primary election anymore, because their selection has been restricted. He opined that it is important to get voters to the polls, not only in the general election, but also in the primary election. 9:37:30 AM REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA, in response to Representative Johansen, said the Republican co-chair for the aforementioned AVOP was Bonnie Jack. 9:38:16 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, in response to Representative Johansen, offered an historical background regarding the aforementioned AVOP court case. He mentioned Washington and California as two states that have led the way in open primary legislation. 9:44:54 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON offered his understanding that the problem that SSHB 77 tries to address is a situation in which two candidates from one party end up running for an office. If, for example, the candidates are both Republican, then a person who votes a Democratic primary ballot will not have any say. He said that has been a frustration that some of the people in his district have expressed. He said he understands the issue, but said he is not sure this is the way to [resolve it]. CHAIR LYNN ventured the debate is that political parties have the right to choose their own representatives without people who are not part of that party "getting into the mix." 9:47:33 AM CHAIR LYNN announced that SSHB 77 was held over.