House State Affairs rejects most amendments to HB43; narrows changes to observer language and drop-box authority

Representative Kerrick, chair of the House State Affairs Committee, convened the committee on Tuesday, March 25, to consider amendments to House Bill 43, an elections bill. The committee considered 16 amendments offered on behalf of Representative Vance; the committee adopted two amendments and rejected 14.

The contested amendments addressed voter registration rules, use of Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) application data, same-day and transfer registration near elections, electronic signatures, special-needs voting, early voting windows, voter-roll maintenance, language assistance, ballot curing and verification, and whether drop boxes should be authorized.

Committee members who pushed the amendments framed them as safeguards for election integrity. Representative McCabe, who moved most of the amendments, said the package would strengthen verification near election day and reduce opportunities for error. “This amendment adds a simple but important safeguard to our voter registration process,” McCabe said in support of a change that would have required people registering within 30 days of an election to provide proof of residency.

Opponents, led by Representative Holland and others, argued many of the proposals would create practical barriers for voters — especially in rural communities or for people who have recently moved. “I’ve spent a year trying to get everything updated along the way,” Holland said of the difficulty of getting utility bills and other documents to reflect a new address quickly. Holland and several colleagues repeatedly said some proposals would disproportionately burden voters rather than improve security.

Division of Elections staff and the PFD division also briefed the committee on operational impacts. Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher told members that some proposals could be implemented with IT work but that timelines, printing and shipping ballots, and other logistical constraints limited what the division could accomplish without additional resources. “It could do a little bit of programming on our end to accommodate that amendment,” Beecher said, “but I wouldn’t know that unless working with my IT staff.” Mikaela Thompson, division operations manager, described the current voter-roll maintenance process and said the division already performs continual updates in addition to mandated annual list maintenance.

Key outcomes

- Two amendments were adopted: - Amendment I.11: Replaced the word “assist” with “observe” to clarify that election observers may watch but not handle ballots during counting; the committee removed an objection and adopted the change. - Amendment I.16: Removed bill language authorizing the use of ballot drop boxes in Alaska; the committee adopted the deletion after discussion about prepaid postage and alternatives.

- Fourteen amendments were not adopted, including provisions that would have: - Required proof of residency for registrations made within 30 days of an election (Amendment I.1). - Barred acceptance of electronic signatures for mail- or electronically submitted voter registration (Amendment I.2). - Prevented voters with incomplete or late registration forms from casting ballots in the same election (Amendment I.3). - Repealed language authorizing same-day registration and voting (Amendments I.4 and I.8 among others). - Required quarterly voter-roll reviews and removal after one missed general election rather than two (Amendment I.9). - Changed special-needs ballot timing and tightened rules on representatives assisting special-needs voters (Amendment I.12). - Required earlier or different early-voting windows and paused early voting before election day (Amendment I.13), and other procedural changes (see “Votes at a glance”).

Committee voting followed roll calls recorded in the transcript. For many of the amendments the final recorded tally was 2 yays and 4 nays — typically yes votes from Representative Moore and Representative McCabe, and no votes from Representatives Holland, Himchute, Representative Story, and Chair Kerrick. Two amendments (I.11 and I.16) were adopted after objections were removed and the committee recorded adoption.

Why it matters

House Bill 43 would change multiple administrative rules and processes governing how Alaskans register and how ballots are handled. Changes to PFD-based registration, same-day registration, signature rules, and methods for returning ballots affect access, logistics and the workload of the Division of Elections. Several members emphasized trade-offs between access and administrative safeguards; staff testified that some changes would require IT or operational work and could increase mailing and processing costs.

What’s next

The committee completed its amendment work on HB43 on March 25 and set the bill aside. Committee members said the Legislature will continue considering elections-related proposals in later hearings. The committee’s next scheduled meeting (announced at adjournment) will include other bills on an address confidentiality program, campaign matters, prisoner tablets and an office of public advocacy.

Votes at a glance

- Amendment I.1 (require proof of residency for registrations within 30 days): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.2 (remove requirement to accept electronic signatures): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Story, Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.3 (prevent incomplete/untimely registrants from voting in same election): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.4 (remove same-day registration language): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.5 (PFD opt-in/verification clarifications): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.7 (share PFD data with Division of Elections with safeguards): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.8 (remove same-day transfer registration provision): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.9 (quarterly voter-roll review; remove after one missed general election): failed (2 yays, 3 nays as recorded in the transcript). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story. - Amendment I.10 (change language assistance requirement; remove retaining absentee after question ballot): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative McCabe, Representative Moore. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.11 (replace “assist” with “observe” for election observers): adopted (objection removed by sponsor). Vote recorded by unanimous removal of objection; no roll-call tally required in transcript. - Amendment I.12 (special-needs voting updates including representative limits and ballot curing): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.13 (adjust early voting timeline to 15 days and add 5-day pause): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.14 (prevent counting absentee ballots before polls close): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.15 (clean-up on absentee ID and rejection reasons): failed (2 yays, 4 nays). Yes: Representative Moore, Representative McCabe. No: Representative Holland, Representative Himchute, Representative Story, Chair Representative Kerrick. - Amendment I.16 (remove authorization for ballot drop boxes): adopted (objection removed by sponsor; amendment passed).

Sources and attribution

Quotes and attributions in this article come from the committee transcript of the March 25, 2025 House State Affairs Committee meeting and from recorded remarks by committee members and Division of Elections staff present during the hearing. Speakers quoted directly in the body are identified in the committee transcript and are listed in the article’s speaker metadata. The committee heard testimony from Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher and Division operations manager Mikaela Thompson, and received comments and staff presentations from PFD and sponsor staff during the hearing.

Ending

The committee concluded amendment work on HB43 and set the bill aside. Members said further elections-related discussions are likely as the Legislature continues its session. The committee’s next scheduled meeting was announced for Thursday, March 27.