Committee hears wide concern about ballot secrecy after public posting rules; officials propose aggregation and statutory redaction standards

The committee shifted to election transparency and ballot privacy and heard sustained testimony that current public‑records practices can, in some small precincts or low‑turnout reporting units, make it possible to match a voter to a ballot. Secretary of State Christina Atkins described the tension between transparency and secrecy and called the existing redaction process imperfect and dependent on attorney general guidance.

County clerks and small‑county witnesses urged statutory guardrails: Laura Rogers (County and District Clerks Association) and other clerks said thresholds to aggregate precinct reporting in hyper‑low‑turnout contexts would reduce identification risk and recommended delaying some releases or adding aggregation of precincts. Verified Voting and election technology witnesses suggested bans on disclosing ballot order or batch IDs, and recommending statutory standards for removing unique markings or other personally identifying vote details.

Civil‑liberties witnesses urged caution about broad redactions that destroy auditability; several recommended a public, witnessed randomization ceremony to select audit units and clearer felony penalties for intentional disclosure of a voter's ballot. County clerks warned that small counties and mail ballots remain especially vulnerable and asked for additional funding and consistent statewide redaction rules to prevent ad hoc practices that differ county to county.