HB 130-ELECTION INTERFERENCE, FRAUD, MISCONDUCT  3:57:16 PM CHAIR SHAW announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 130, "An Act relating to the crimes of unlawful interference with an election, election fraud, and election official misconduct; and providing for an effective date." 3:58:04 PM REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, presented HB 130, on behalf of the House Judiciary Standing Committee. She provided the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: HB 130 enhances election security by codifying the crime of unlawful interference of an election for anyone who intentionally tampers with ballots or machinery, creates the crime of election fraud, and adds to the crime of election official misconduct for sharing confidential election information. This bill intends to restore public confidence in our elections by providing accountability of bad actors who seek to jeopardize the integrity of our elections from ballot to the tabulator. CHAIR SHAW inquired about the fiscal note for HB 130. 4:01:37 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE stated that a zero fiscal note from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) accompanied the bill. 4:02:13 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked whether poll watchers were considered election officials. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE shared her understanding that a voluntary poll watcher would not be considered an election official. She deferred to DOE for confirmation. 4:02:51 PM MICHAELA THOMPSON, Administrative Operations Manager, DOE, confirmed that poll watchers were not election officials. REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER sought to confirm that poll watchers would not fall under the statute, as they were not official election workers. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE referred to Section 1 of HB 130, speculating that a poll watcher may fall under AS 15.56.060 [Unlawful interference with an election]. 4:05:30 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY referred to Section 3, paragraph (4) of the bill and asked whether campaign workers would still be allowed to request updated vote counts throughout the day if the bill were to pass. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE answered yes, as the provision was explicitly speaking to election results, returns, and confidential election data. REPRESENTATIVE STORY requested the definition of "confidential election data." REPRESENTATIVE VANCE deferred to DOE. 4:06:48 PM MS. THOMPSON shared her understanding that confidential election data included election results. She said in the context of HB 130, she was unsure what was encompassed by "confidential election data." REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether HB 130 would prevent DOE from sharing voter data with databases used to maintain the voter registration list. MS. THOMPSON did not know the answer. REPRESENTATIVE STORY emphasized the importance of finding out the answer. MR. FLYNN indicated that "confidential election data" was not defined in statute, adding that he was unsure what it would entail. He observed that the language "before the polls close on election day" in paragraph (4) was not time bound on the close end and could be interpreted expansively. 4:09:31 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked why the bill increased the penalty for election fraud from a class C felony to a class B felony. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE conveyed that committing election fraud with the intent to change the outcome of the election could impact the entire state; therefore, she believed that the penalty should be heightened. CHAIR SHAW announced that the bill was held over. HB 132-ELECTIONS: BALLOT, VOTING, SECURITY HB 129-VOTER REGISTRATION HB 130-ELECTION INTERFERENCE, FRAUD, MISCONDUCT HB 131-VOTING MACHINES AND VOTE TALLY SYSTEMS 4:37:44 PM CHAIR SHAW announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 132, "An Act relating to election security, voting, and ballots; and providing for an effective date" and HOUSE BILL NO. 129, "An Act relating to voter registration; and providing for an effective date" and HOUSE BILL NO. 130, "An Act relating to the crimes of unlawful interference with an election, election fraud, and election official misconduct; and providing for an effective date" and HOUSE BILL NO. 131 "An Act relating to voting machines and vote tally systems; and providing for an effective date." 4:38:23 PM REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, presented HB 132 on behalf of the House Judiciary Standing Committee. She provided the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: HB 132 has a voter focused approach that seeks to increase public confidence in our elections with a means to cure a ballot, enhance cybersecurity, and implement an online multifactor authentication for each voter to protect Alaskan's individual information. Protecting the foundation of our representative form of government begins with protecting each ballot. This bill establishes a strict chain of custody protocol for ballots and tabulators from the printer to voter, to disposal, complete with a unique security identifier such as a barcode. To help alleviate concerns of misconduct, this bill enhances administrative procedure that brings integrity to the process of handling ballots and allows recruitment of a technical subject matter expert to conduct a full forensic audit of voting machines, tabulators, storage devices, and vote tally systems. HB 132 prioritizes Alaskan voters and the integrity of their vote so every eligible vote counts! 4:39:47 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE directed attention to a PowerPoint presentation, titled "HB 132 Elections; Ballot, Voting, Security" [included in the committee packet]. She emphasized the voter-focused aspects of the bill on slide 2, including: ballot security, ballot chain of custody, ballot tracking system, ballot curing, increased cybersecurity, and election offense hotline. 4:40:08 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE addressed ballot security on slide 3, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: • Security Identifier • Paper Record • Envelope-based Barcode • Signed Ballot Chain-of-Custody Document • Maintain Forensic Integrity of Ballots 4:40:42 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE continued to slide 4, titled "Ballot Tracking System," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Online multi-factor authentication system like used with your MyAlaska account. • confirm the ballot was sent • track ballot date of delivery • confirm receipt of ballot • determine review of voter's certificate • determine if vote has been counted • provide information to cure the ballot  • verify voter's identity • indicate the process to cure a ballot or reason • the vote was not counted 4:42:12 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE turned to slide 5, titled "Increased Cybersecurity," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Develop a cybersecurity program to defend voter registration records and provide cybersecurity training for election officials. 4:42:24 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE detailed the election offense hotline on slide 6, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: The director shall establish a toll free election offense hotline to receive calls reporting election offenses. • Continuously staffed during absentee voting hours, early voting, and 24 hours after polls open. • Election official available to respond to calls • Offense hotline number placed in conspicuous places. 4:43:11 PM REPRESENTATIVE VANCE concluded on slide 7, titled "Forensic Audits," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Grants the Legislative Council the power to contract with and appoint technical subject matter experts to conduct full forensic audits of election data, algorithms, software, and equipment, including precinct tabulators, storage devices, voting machines, and vote tally systems. 4:44:13 PM CHAIR SHAW requested a brief explanation of the fiscal note from DOE. 4:44:24 PM CAROL BEECHER, Director, DOE, stated that the fiscal note reflected the estimated costs incurred, such as non-permanent election clerks; ballot printing; professional services for IT consulting; software maintenance; forensic auditing; and ballot tracking software. 4:45:22 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY requested the definition of a "full forensic audit." REPRESENTATIVE VANCE clarified that that the bill would grant Legislative Council with the authority to find someone to conduct the forensic audits pending further definition from the legislature. She defined a forensic audit as "looking more at any potential fraud and activity that would deal with a criminal nature." REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether DOE could define "forensic audit." MS. BEECHER deferred to Mr. Flynn. 4:46:52 PM THOMAS FLYNN, Assistant Attorney General, DOL, said he was not aware of a statutory definition of "forensic audit." REPRESENTATIVE STORY inquired about the credentials or qualifications for those conducting a "forensic audit." REPRESENTATIVE VANCE indicated that the legislature could determine the subject matter expert for any activity deemed as deserving of more insight. 4:47:52 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER shared his understanding that the institutional knowledge of a "full forensic audit" was lacking because the state had never conducted on before. He recommended defining the parameters of a full "forensic audit" in statute. 4:49:31 PM REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON inquired about the cost of ballot printing. MS. BEECHER deferred to Ms. Thompson. MICHAELA THOMPSON, Administrative Operations Manager, DOE, shared her understanding that adding a watermark would require additional types of ballot printing paper. REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked whether the fiscal note reflected an estimate of costs or whether a request for information (RFI) or request for proposal (RFP) had been issued. MS. THOMPSON believed that the election program manager received an estimate from the current ballot printer. REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON expressed his interest in looking into the accuracy of fiscal notes and how they're derived. 4:51:09 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked how the chain of custody proposed in HB 132 would differ from existing chain of custody protocols. MS. BEECHER deferred to Ms. Thompson. MS. THOMPSON acknowledged that the division followed chain of custody procedures in all aspects of the election process. She further noted that the division had an existing portal that allowed voters to track the receival of their ballot in addition to processes for sending unused ballots back to the division and tracking spoiled ballots used in the precinct. REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked how the chain of [custody] worked with the United States Postal Service (USPS). MS. THOMPSON described the chain of custody. 4:54:32 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER requested an assessment from DOE comparing existing chain of custody procedures to the ones proposed in Section 2 HB 132. He suggested that existing chain of custody procedures could stand to be updated. 4:55:23 PM CHAIR SHAW opened public testimony on HB 132, HB 129, HB 130, and HB 131. 4:55:38 PM KAREN LEWIS, urged the legislature to return to a hand count system, opining that all machines could be manipulated. She read from a prepared statement. 4:59:10 PM PAMELA SAMASH, Concerned Conservatives of Alaska, opined that fair and honest elections were critical for a free society, opining that these bills were an important step towards making that possible. She urged the committee's support for HB 129, HB 130, HB 131, and HB 132. 5:00:26 PM JOHN MILLER expressed his support for the bills presented during the hearing "except for the machines." He offered several suggestions for election security. He opined that the bills were fundamental to ensuring that the people's voice was heard. 5:02:20 PM GERALD VOSS expressed his support for HB 129, HB 130, HB 131, and HB 132 and offered several suggestions for election security. 5:04:13 PM JOHN LETTOW expressed his support for the election bills presented during the hearing, stating his support for transitioning to a hand count. 5:05:43 PM MIKE COONS, President, Concerned Conservatives of Alaska, expressed support for HB 129, HB 130, HB 131, and HB 132 with "one caveat." 5:07:27 PM CHAIR SHAW stated that public testimony would be left open. He announced that HB 132 was held over.