Panel hears bill to restore presidential write‑in option on Alaska ballots

Representative Dan Sadler introduced House Bill 4 to add write‑in lines for president and vice president on Alaska ballots and to require official write‑in candidates to file with the Division of Elections information including electors and a mailing address.

Sadler said the change "provides no advantage to any one particular party" and carries a 0 fiscal note. Dolores Neal, staff to Representative Sadler, walked through the sectional analysis, which requires voters to at minimum write the presidential candidate’s last name for the vote to count and adds filing requirements for officially registered write‑in presidential candidates.

Director Carol Beecher explained that a 2020 Division regulation accompanying ranked‑choice voting had stopped allowing presidential write‑ins, partly because ranked‑choice tabulation can make write‑in processing for statewide presidential contests administratively heavy and because the division must vet potential write‑in candidates and their electors. Beecher said the division would need to review filings to determine whether a write‑in candidate met qualification rules and that including presidential write‑ins on a ranked‑choice ballot could have sizing and counting implications.

Committee members asked about the mechanics and timeline for candidate filing; staff and the director said full filing requirements and timelines would be provided at a future hearing. Department of Law staff recalled that the state allowed presidential write‑ins prior to ranked‑choice implementation.

Next steps: Committee members indicated they would request more detail on filing deadlines and administrative mechanics; HB4 will be returned to committee for further consideration.