Senate panel advances committee substitute for omnibus elections bill, schedules further work

Juneau — The Alaska Senate State Affairs Committee on March 11 adopted a committee substitute as its working document for Senate Bill 64, a roughly 29‑page omnibus elections bill, and set the H version aside for a future hearing. Committee staff summarized deletions, additions and edits in the current “H” work draft and the chair set a deadline for amendments by the following Wednesday close of business.

The bill, carried in committee as an omnibus elections measure, removes four provisions from the earlier draft (pre‑registration of minors, questioning of voters who requested absentee ballots, timing for scanning ballots, and a synthetic‑media provision) and adds multiple changes drawn from bills introduced by the governor and others. David Dunsmore, staff to Senator Wilikowski, told the committee the substituted draft adds provisions that: repeal the regulation‑based poll worker compensation requirement; allow absentee ballot cover sheets to be submitted electronically; repeal a statutory requirement for specific voting‑booth dimensions; allow absentee ballot review to begin 10 days before election day; remove a statutory requirement to count absentee ballots that arrive after a recount deadline; and merge voter roll cleanup provisions from the governor’s bill with the committee’s prior language.

The substitute also revises identification and voting documentation rules: tribal identification cards were added to the list of acceptable photo IDs; hunting and fishing licenses were removed; and non‑photo documents (utility bills, bank statements, paychecks or government checks) are clarified to be acceptable only if issued within the prior 90 days. A new section clarifies that voter registration via a Permanent Fund dividend application is not treated as contact for voter‑roll cleanup. The draft includes criminal provisions that make opening or tampering with a sealed ballot envelope or hacking a voting machine an unlawful interference offense, and adds disclosure of election results before polls close to the definition of first‑degree election official misconduct. Other edits narrow the data released with unofficial results, change observer language for the state review board process, add “sample ballot” to language‑assistance material, and authorize municipalities (by regulation) to provide ballot drop boxes rather than requiring them outside division offices.

Committee members discussed but removed a synthetic‑media provision so the committee could pursue a broader, stand‑alone approach to artificial intelligence policy. Senator Bjorkman and other members asked whether broadcasters’ liability in synthetic‑media advertising had been addressed; staff said the synthetic‑media text was fully removed from this substitute to allow a more comprehensive approach.

Public testimony was uniformly supportive of the changes in the draft. Emily Leek Michie, director of the Alaska Voter Hub, representing a coalition of 27 nonpartisan nonprofits, praised measures that remove witness‑signature requirements, add paid postage, create ballot curing processes, and add a rural voting liaison, saying those changes would reduce the disproportionately high ballot rejection rates in rural parts of the state and for voters for whom English is not a primary language. Cisco Mercado, policy director for Alaska Community Action on Toxics, and other commenters urged passage to expand access and allow same‑day registration and other measures the witnesses said increase turnout and reduce disenfranchisement. Lanny Gerken and David Zimmer also testified in favor of measures to avoid ballot rejection and to add prepaid postage or recurring absentee lists.

The committee opened the H work draft to amendments, set a submission deadline of the following Wednesday at close of business, removed an earlier objection for purposes of discussion and formally adopted the committee substitute as the working document. Chair Kawasaki set the H version aside for further hearing at a later date. The committee did not take a formal recorded roll‑call vote on final passage; the action recorded was adoption of the committee substitute as the working document and scheduling of further consideration.

What’s next: The committee requested amendment drafts be filed quickly through the committee office and Ledge Legal, and staff said members could request help drafting amendments. The H version of Senate Bill 64 will be posted and the committee will take further action at a later hearing.