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Alaska committee hears bill to let 16‑year‑olds preregister to vote, adds confidentiality protections
Summary
House State Affairs heard Representative Andy Story’s HB21 to allow 16‑ and 17‑year‑olds to preregister, trigger registration at 18 with a 45‑day mailed verification, and keep minors’ addresses and phone numbers confidential; Division of Elections said system changes and postage are the main fiscal items.
Representative Andy Story introduced House Bill 21 on Feb. 11, 2025, proposing that Alaskans age 16 may preregister to vote and that the Division of Elections mail a residency verification 45 days before the registrant’s 18th birthday to confirm address and trigger formal registration.
The sponsor and his staff framed the measure as a civic‑education tool intended to increase youth turnout and to close what they called a confidentiality gap for pre‑registered 17‑year‑olds. "This bill seeks to address these concerns by allowing 16 year olds to register to vote and providing access to the voting process," Story said in his presentation.
Honor Miller Austin, staff to Representative Story, walked through the sectional analysis and fiscal notes, saying the preregistration change itself would be incorporated into routine system updates and "no fiscal impact is anticipated for this portion," while postage and mailing for residency verification would create a fiscal note and the DMV would need form updates and staff training.
Committee members pressed the Division of Elections on implementation and voter‑roll impacts. Director Carol Beecher said the official election pamphlet and other mailed materials go to voter households, and that preregistered 16‑ and 17‑year‑olds would be in a confidential, pending status and would not appear on lists available to municipalities or the public until they are registered at 18. "They are not considered to be registered voters, until they actually turn 18," Beecher said.
Lawmakers asked about outreach into schools and whether preregistered youth would receive election pamphlets before they are eligible to vote. Sponsor Story and invited witnesses said schools, DMV interactions and civic‑education programs would be the natural avenues for outreach; Beecher said households that already receive voter mailings would receive them, but preregistered youth would not be made public until age 18.
Three invited witnesses testified in support: Marion Clow of the League of Women Voters in Juneau argued preregistration builds civic habits, Amy Galloway, a Fairbanks civics teacher, said pairing registration with classroom instruction would strengthen engagement, and Madison Areola of Anchorage Youth Vote urged the committee to "empower the youth" through preregistration.
The committee set HB21 aside for a future hearing to allow sponsors and staff to craft an amendment addressing address verification and other operational details. The chair said members could submit follow‑ups to the sponsor’s office ahead of that hearing.
Next steps: HB21 will return to State Affairs for further questions and consideration at a future committee date.
