SENATE BILL NO. 185 "An Act relating to the maintenance of voter lists and to the inactivation and cancellation of voter registration; and providing for an effective date." GAIL FENUMIAI, Election Program Specialist for the Division of Elections, was invited to testify before the committee concerning this legislation. Ms. FENUMIAI addressed the intent of this bill, which is to attempt to bring Alaska State law into compliance with the National Voter Registration Act in the area of list maintenance. The NVRA was passed in 1993 and since that time the state has not been able to purge names from the voter list. In 1996 an attempt was made to change the state law and bring it into compliance, but the legislation did not meet the standards imposed by the US Department of Justice. Compliance is necessary to avoid a threatened lawsuit authorized by the federal government in 1997. A draft of the current bill has been sent to the Department of Justice in hopes they would drop their lawsuit. An informal agreement was received saying that if this legislation passed, they would drop their lawsuit. Ms. FENUMIAI described the process in which non-active voters would be notified of their possible elimination from the voting rolls. The first step would entail sending address verification cards to all registered voters - both active and inactive. Then in subsequent years, notices would be sent to voters who have had no contact with the Division of Elections. She listed the benefits of including everybody in the initial mail-out: one, the list has not been purged since 1993 and two, the Department of Justice is offended by targeted mailings. In addition, implementation of this law will save the state money in the long run. Candidates and legislators will also realize cost savings when doing mass mailings. Voter turnout numbers would also be affected by passage of this bill, bringing numbers into a realistic perspective. According to the Department of Labor, Ms. FENUMIAI quoted, Alaska's voting age population is about 418,000. Currently, there are about 440,000 registered voters on the rolls. Senator Phillips inquired as to whom would be mailed a notice advising of deletion from the registered voter list. Ms. FENUMIAI explained that notices would be mailed to registered voters who had not made any actions to signify intent to remain an active registered voter in Alaska. This is defined as those who had not voted in the past two years; or had not signed a petition; or had no contact with the DOE either by making a change of address, inquiry of polling place or other state business. Senator Adams wanted assurance that passage of this legislation would guarantee there would be no lawsuit on the matter. Senator Donley pointed out that the filing, or not filing of lawsuits can not be guaranteed because anyone is able to file a lawsuit if they desire. Ms. FENUMIAI asked that the Department of Law representative be allowed to speak to this issue. KATHLEEN STRASBAUGH, DOL was asked to join the committee. She shared her communications with the Department of Justice and told the committee that to her understanding, upon passage of this legislation, the DOJ would withdraw the pending lawsuit. She admitted that she has been unable to get them to put it in writing. However, she said they have a two-year backlog, which may be the cause of the delay. She urged the committee against making any changed to the bill saying that while she understands the concerns regarding the costs involved with mailing notices to every registered voter, it is a necessary expenditure to comply with the DOJ's standards. Senator Torgerson had questions about the fiscal note. He wondered why the postage costs were so high and if the mailing could be piggybacked onto another State mail-out. He gave the annual Permanent Fund Dividend application mail- out as an example. Ms. FENUMIAI explained that the mailing is specific to registered voters and informed the committee that a notice must be mailed to each voter. Other mail- outs, such as the PFD, are sent to every household, which may include more than one registered voter. She also talked about a DOJ stipulation that requires the Division of Elections to pay both the outgoing and the return postage. Senator Torgerson asked why the fiscal note asked for funding in years preceding FY99. Ms. Funumani cited the need for the voter registration list to be continually updated. She pointed out how the costs would significantly drop after the first year. There was further discussion about the schematics involved in notifying in-active voters and the purging process. Ms. Funumani detailed the steps the division would be taking to send a notice to those registered voters who had not voted in the last two general elections. This mail-out would be sent via non-forward-able mail. If the notice is returned showing a forwarding address, a second notice will be sent, this time by forward-able mail to that address. Any notices returned after the second mailing will be considered for deletion from the voter list. Senator Phillips wondered how Alaska stacked up to other states in its transient nature. Ms. Funumani replied that she didn't have data from other states for comparison purposes, but she did note a high occurrence of first-issue voter registration cards coming back to her office marked "undeliverable". Senator Adams asked to have SB 185 moved out of committee with accompanying fiscal note. There was no objection to this and Co-Chair Sharp so ordered.