SB 39-BALLOT CUSTODY/TAMPERING; VOTER REG; MAIL   2:46:14 PM CHAIR HOLLAND reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 39 "An Act relating to elections; relating to voter registration; relating to ballots and a system of tracking and accounting for ballots; establishing an election offense hotline; designating as a class A misdemeanor the collection of ballots from other voters; designating as a class C felony the intentional opening or tampering with a sealed ballot, certificate, or package of ballots without authorization from the director of the division of elections; and providing for an effective date." CHAIR HOLLAND noted that this was the fourth hearing in this committee and a committee substitute (CS) was adopted during the previous hearing. He asked the sponsor if he had any comment on the CS. 2:46:50 PM SENATOR SHOWER stated that Mr. Ogan would speak to the committee substitute. 2:47:31 PM SCOTT OGAN, Staff, Senator Mike Shower, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, provided a summary of SB 39. He said the sponsor's goal in revising election statutes was to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. The sponsor worked with people with wide-ranging views. He hoped the process taken with SB 39 would provide other states with a consensus model. He noted that many states made accusations and floated conspiracy theories. He stated that the sponsor preferred to use the approach of consensus building in the committee substitute (CS). MR. OGAN offered his belief that voting is a cornerstone of the US democracy. He emphasized the need for voter confidence in the voting system. Otherwise, he believed that the US would be in serious trouble. MR. OGAN pointed out that the Division of Elections had a data breach that exposed personal information, the voter rolls need updating, and the public is concerned about election security. He stated that since the division follows the current statutes, the legislature must address these issues as a policy-setting body. 2:50:05 PM MR. OGAN outlined changes in the bill to same-day registration, including that voters must provide sufficient proof of identity, submit a signed affidavit confirming residency in the district under the penalty of perjury, and vote a questioned ballot. The bill would increase opportunities for poll watchers and enhance ballot security and chain of custody. Currently, election laws allow ballots to be destroyed in the precincts. This bill would require all ballots to be delivered to a central location for destruction, which could help ensure the security of ballots from the time they leave the Division of Elections until their return. 2:54:17 PM MR. OGAN stated that absentee ballots in Section 32 requires online ballot tracking with a USPS barcode. He noted the committee would be considering an amendment that would allow the division to contract with private sector companies. MR. OGAN stated that SB 39 would allow for early counting of absentee ballots but make it a felony to disclose that information. He surmised that it would cut down on time to tally votes on Election Day. 2:55:27 PM MR. OGAN stated that SB 39 would tighten up late arrival ballots with ballot tracking by USPS. It would use voter signature technology and eliminate the need for two witnesses to verify a voter's identification. He stated that if a voter makes a simple mistake on their ballot, the division will send a text to the voter, so they can come to the division to cure their ballot. He characterized it as not overly burdensome. The bill would authorize the division to mail out ballots in small communities when emergencies arise. 2:56:50 PM MR. OGAN stated that SB 39 requires open-source voting to allow the public to review the codes since none of the vendor's hardware would be proprietary. This should eliminate any conspiracy theories about the manipulation of voting machines. SB 39 would create new crimes for intentionally tampering, breaching, or hacking ballots. It would increase poll workers' pay since the division has difficulty recruiting people. MR. OGAN stated that the bill would offer a permanent absentee ballot provision, although this provision still needs a little work. He indicated that the committee could decide whether to limit the permanent absentee ballot to four years. The bill would require a strict chain of custody for voting equipment and it increases cybersecurity. 2:59:29 PM SENATOR SHOWER explained that a risk-limiting audit was different from a forensic audit, which provides a money trail. The risk-limiting audit would look at ballot counts and registration. He outlined some concerns with the upcoming election, including that the division will have a mass mailing of ballots with no chain of custody. He was unsure whether the division would institute a tracking system for all ballots mailed to voters. He expressed concern that the ballots will not require a signature verification, and the division does not plan to cross-check the compromised voters affected by the data breach. He explained that the open-source algorithm is to push the voter identification data to allow voters to analyze the data themselves. 3:01:05 PM SENATOR HUGHES asked whether the division would require proof of 30-day residency for same-day voter registration or if the same- day registrants will merely fill out a form and sign their name. MR. OGAN responded that the voter must provide a rent receipt or other sufficient proof in person and vote a questioned ballot. 3:02:19 PM SENATOR MYERS referred to Section 23, lines 25-27, related to early voting. He asked whether this provision switches early voting stations to in-person absentee voting, making it a little harder to vote. He stated his preference for preserving anonymity, which was eroded by creating an envelope. He offered his belief that early voting should use the same procedure as regular in-person voting on Election Day. Thus, a person should walk in, show identification, and receive their ballot. MR. OGAN was unsure but believed that he filled out an absentee ballot form when he was an early voter when he voted. 3:04:35 PM SENATOR MYERS stated that he previously voted both absentee and early voting. He noted that the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) allows for early voting until a few days before the election, then it switches to an in-person absentee voting. The state allows early voting through Election Day and double checks signatures against the voter rolls. He said the state does not allow in-person absentee voting unless the voter requests it or votes a questioned ballot. 3:05:33 PM GAIL FENUMIAI, Director, Division of Elections, Juneau, Alaska, responded that Senator Myers is correct that there are two distinct processes for early voting and absentee in-person voting. Early voting takes place in the Division of Election's five regional offices. Absentee-in-person voting happens in the non-regional offices. Some offices have multi-district ballots, others have single-district sites, and some have ballots for all 40 districts. Those are strictly absentee-in-person locations. It is considered early voting, but voters must fill out an absentee-in person oath and voter certificates at polling places, including at the airport, and the university. However, those are strictly absentee in-person locations. It is voting early, but voters must fill out the absentee-in-person oath and voter certificates. Those documents are returned to the division, and the voter's eligibility is determined once the ballot is received and reviewed by the Absentee Review Board. 3:07:30 PM SENATOR KIEHL asked about open-source software; he was only aware of one company for voting tabulators. He wondered whether the sponsor could provide names of other companies so he could verify that the committee was not inadvertently writing in a sole-source contract. He related his understanding that nothing in the bill eliminates paper ballots for special needs voting machines with voter-verifiable paper trails. He pointed out everything in that process was re-countable and auditable. SENATOR KIEHL wondered why the division would use open-source software if it is not the best software. He suggested that if it crashes more often, it could create more hiccups that must be verified, potentially decreasing voter confidence. He suggested the state should use the best software, then check and verify the results. 3:09:08 PM SENATOR SHOWER offered to provide the number of the open-source software companies. He noted the one company he heard from still needed to obtain federal certification. He indicated he consistently heard the public impression was that the current company lacks transparency since its algorithm is proprietary. He noted the lack of transparency in the election process was one of the most problematic concerns. He acknowledged that some of the concerns were based on national conspiracy theories. The Division of Elections said the state would need to go through Dominion to obtain data pre-election and post-election, which is proprietary information. However, that information would be available with an open-source company and given to citizens who want it. 3:12:32 PM CHAIR HOLLAND held SB 39 in committee.