HB 225-POSTING OF UNOFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS  3:18:16 PM CHAIR SHAW announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 225, "An Act relating to the tabulation of ballots; and requiring the division of elections to provide unofficial election results before the results of an election are certified." 3:18:31 PM The committee took an at-ease from 3:18 p.m. to 3:21 p.m. 3:21:07 PM REPRESENTATIVE ANDREW GRAY, Alaska State Legislature, presented HB 225, as prime sponsor. He paraphrased a sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: In 2020, Alaskan voters approved Ballot Measure 2, which implemented ranked choice voting (RCV) for general elections. This system of elections allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, eliminating the candidate with the lowest vote totals and reallocating their second-choice votes, and repeating this process until one candidate has over 50% of the vote. However, in the 2022 election, voters did not receive the final results until 15 days after the election, causing some confusion. As with any electoral system, transparency and timely results must be prioritized to the voters. HB 225 addresses this concern by requiring the Division of Elections to release the ranking data necessary to conduct RCV tabulations on the day after the general election, and also when it releases unofficial election results. Knowing the vote totals along with ranking data will allow voters and candidates to have a more up-to-date picture of the standings before the final tabulation. HB 225 is a simple bill that will help increase transparency around our electoral process, so I ask for your support. REPRESENTATIVE GRAY stated that his office worked with the Division of Elections to create HB 225, which [carries a zero fiscal note]. 3:24:15 PM DAVID SONG, Staff, Representative Andrew Gray, Alaska State Legislature, provided a PowerPoint presentation, titled "HB 225 Posting Unofficial Elections Results" [hard copy included in the committee packet]. He began on slide 2, titled "Background Information," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: BACKGROUND INFORMATION • Ballot Measure 2 in 2020 instituted Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). • RCV allows voters to rank their candidates in order of preference. • If no candidate receives 50% + of the first- choice vote, the candidate with the lowest vote total is eliminated and second-choice votes are reallocated. • Process is repeated until one candidate has over 50% of the vote. • RCV takes more time than single-choice voting. MR. SONG moved to slide 3, titled "2022 Alaska Elections," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: • Division of Elections took 15 days to release full tabulation results for the 2022 general election. • Division of Elections' policy of not releasing ranking data in a timely manner created confusion • Example: Initial results for 2022 Senate elections had: • Kelly Tshibaka in the lead on 11/9. • Lisa Murkowski won after tabulation on 11/23 3:26:03 PM MR. SONG moved to slide 4, titled "Results Don't Have To Be Slow," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: • Delay in results undermines trust in elections. • Digital scanning of ballots allows for instant release of results. • Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center recommends several actions including: • Round by round tabulation tally on election night. • Publishing the entire ballot record so that anyone can verify the results. • Clear communication of expectations, timelines, and results. MR. SONG moved to slide 5, titled "What Does HB 225 Do?," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: • Incorporates some of these best practices for Alaska elections. • Releases the unofficial results with ALL of the ballot data the day after election day, not just first-choice votes. • No more 15-day delays for results. • Ongoing release of unofficial election results will include ALL ballot data. • Allows for elections observers to conduct their own tabulations in order to see how second, third, etc. votes will be allocated. • No blindsiding 3:27:18 PM MR. SONG moved to slide 6, titled "What Does HB 225 NOT Do?," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: • Data will not include hand-count precincts in preliminary release of results. • Does not affect municipal election procedures. Municipalities that have adopted handcount elections will not be affected. • Does not require the Division of Elections to conduct a round-by-round tabulation, adding additional staffing. • Just releases the ballot data so observers, media, etc. can conduct their own tabulations. MR. SONG moved to slide 7, titled "Concluding Remarks," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: If RCV is overturned, HB 225 no longer applies. • HB 225 brings transparency and efficiency to Alaska elections we will be like the rest of the country: we will know who is really in the lead in our closest races the day after the elections. 3:28:32 PM WILLIAM ADLER, Associate Director, The Elections Project, Bipartisan Policy Center, explained that the Bipartisan Policy Center's Elections Project advocates for pragmatic solutions to improve American elections, does not take a formal position on rank-choice voting but does support best-practices for any voting method. He applauded the goal of HB 225 to ensure voters are aware of who is leading in a rank-choice election as results are reported. He stated that this is a manageable task for Alaska's election workers and would increase public transparency of elections. Under the current model, it takes more than two weeks for voters to get a clear picture of which candidate is leading. Expediting more comprehensive results aligns with the best practices for rank-choice voting. MR. ADLER noted several close elections in 2022. Best practices for rank-choice voting involve releasing preliminary round-by- round tallies on election night and updating the votes as more are counted. This would make the election more transparent and provide voters with an earlier and more meaningful picture of election results. He said HB 225 mitigates some administrative concerns associated with delayed unofficial tabulation. Alaska has a history of competitive elections. Delayed election results can result in inadequate time for the transfer of power. He exemplified the heightened difficulties for the governorship because the governor's term begins just four weeks after the election. The proposed legislation would mitigate that concern. 3:32:55 PM MR. ADLER mentioned some minor revisions that could be made to the bill to eliminate some ambiguities and ensure that the data released by the division is usable by the public without proprietary software. In addition to releasing the data necessary for observers to conduct the tabulation, the division could conduct the tabulation and release it as unofficial results. He emphasized that voters need transparency, candidates need time to transition into office, and election administrators need clear guidelines from the legislature. 3:33:58 PM LOREN LEMAN, Former Lieutenant Governor, mentioned that he has been an Alaska voter for 51 years. He told a story of a tied result in a legislative race. He mentioned his involvement in the citizen-lead initiative to repeal rank-choice voting. He discussed three criticisms of rank-choice voting and said that the process is confusing, it takes too long to get results, and can produce results that are different from a "regular" election. He mentioned that HB 225 would address one of his criticisms of rank-choice voting by creating faster preliminary results. He mentioned that he spoke with Division of Elections director, Carol Beecher and affirmed that the division can support the intention of the bill; however, she warned that in a close election, the results could swing from one candidate to the other. He advised that to make changes to improve voter participation, the bill could be amended to repeal rank choice voting. Passing HB 225 as is could make a small improvement to elections regarding reporting. 3:37:57 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked if the Division of Elections is available to discuss the bill. She requested information about current statute that limits the release of results for over two weeks. 3:39:07 PM CAROL BEECHER, Director, Central Office, Division of Elections, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, based on her interpretation of current statute, noted a regulation that the ranking would occur after the fifteenth day. The division must wait for all the ballots to be submitted. She noted that for the general election, ballots can come in up to the fifteenth day after the election if they are postmarked on election day. Rank-choice voting requires that if no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, then the ranking process begins. She clarified that the division must wait until all the votes are in before determining which races need to be ranked. REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked if the timeline in HB 225 would work from the perspective of the Division of Elections. MS. BEECHER affirmed that the division could provide the data to run the results. REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked if there are any downsides to releasing results as they become available. MS. BEECHER stated her belief that voter confusion is still a possibility. She said that results can go up and down as the results are submitted, which may be confusing for people who lack understanding of how rank-choice votes are calculated. CHAIR SHAW announced that amendments would be due by March 26, 2024, and HB 225 was held over.