Alaska Legislature considers comprehensive election bill in final days of session

Yahoo

14-05-2025

May 13—JUNEAU — The Alaska Legislature is considering a comprehensive election reform measure with a suite of policies intended to make voting more accessible and secure, and to speed up when election results are reported.
The Senate advanced Senate Bill 64 on Monday to the House, where the bill is expected to be fast-tracked through the committee process in the final days of the legislative session. The measure was written to appeal to lawmakers across the political spectrum.
Anchorage Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski said before Monday's final vote that SB 64 is "truly, a compromise bill" with substantial input from Republican minority members and the Dunleavy administration. He said the bill is not partisan, but it makes common-sense election reforms.
"It fixes a lot of things that have long been needed to be fixed," he added.
Members of the bipartisan House and Senate majorities have said election reform is a top priority this year after several near misses. Provisions include:
—Plans to allow Alaskans to correct mistakes on absentee ballots, a process used in two-thirds of states called "ballot curing." Voters in rural Alaska and military voters have disproportionately had their ballots rejected due to errors such as forgetting to include a witness signature on ballot envelopes. SB 64 would eliminate that requirement after lawmakers noted those signatures are not verified by the Division of Elections. Additionally, postage would be paid by the state for absentee ballots.
—Alaska has the slowest ballot counting process in America. SB 64 intends to make that faster by implementing a 10-day deadline for by-mail ballots, which would allow earlier certification of results.
—The bill intends to improve election security by establishing cybersecurity protections for voter registration records and by ensuring all campaigns can observe polling places and ballot review processes. Residency requirements would also be made stricter for Alaskans who move Outside and seek to return.
—Alaska has long had more people on its voter rolls than residents in the state. SB 64 intends to shorten and streamline the process to remove ineligible voters from the rolls. State agencies would also share data to find out-of-state voters and duplicate registrations.
The bill would also add tribal identification cards, and remove hunting and fishing licenses, as valid forms of ID to vote — among a long list of other changes.
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Despite the bipartisan approach, the Senate approved SB 64 along caucus lines on a 14-6 vote. All members of the bipartisan Senate majority voted for the bill; all six members of the Republican Senate minority voted no.
Wasilla Republican Sen. Mike Shower applauded the collaborative process to craft SB 64. But he said the measure "fell short of the mark."
In a Tuesday interview, Shower said there were some non-controversial provisions in the bill. He cited a ban on AI-created "deepfakes" in political advertising. Elections experts nationally have raised concerns that images created by AI could confuse voters and potentially sway elections.
However, Shower said he had sought certain stricter safeguards in the measure. He pointed to a provision that would allow voters to get absentee ballots indefinitely, so long as they vote at least once every four years. Shower said he would oppose a "permanent absentee ballot application process" due to election integrity concerns.
SB 64 has been supported by groups such as the Alaska Federation of Natives, the League of Women Voters of Alaska, and the Alaska AFL-CIO.
Lawmakers say the bill is being advanced quickly with the intention of passing it this year. That way, the policy changes could be in place for the 2026 election.
Election measures are set to advance quickly through the House committee process this year, lawmakers said. Anchorage independent Rep. Calvin Schrage said that elections reform is top priority for the House majority.
"I've seen too many voters disenfranchised, and I think this is another one of those issues Alaskans are really wanting us to take action on," he said.
The measure contains several provisions proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration. Several lawmakers said they were unsure whether Dunleavy would support it.
Jeff Turner, a spokesperson for the governor's office, declined to comment on Dunleavy's opinions on the bill. Turner noted that the measure could change in the House.
Some conservative House lawmakers have expressed concerns. Homer Republican Rep. Sarah Vance opposed eliminating the witness signature requirement and other provisions in the bill. She said that would weaken Alaska's election system. Vance, a minority member, urged further compromise.
"If there is any will by the governing majority to do that, you're running out of time," she said at a Tuesday committee hearing.
In the past three years, the Legislature has twice failed to pass an elections bill on the final day of the legislative session. In 2022, a last-minute deal collapsed to reestablish stricter campaign contribution limits in Alaska. Last year, the House failed to pass another election reform bill. Former Republican House Speaker Cathy Tilton suggested last year that the measure was blocked because it would have benefited then-U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat.
Shower and Wielechowski have been part of prior efforts to pass election reform bills. Both senators said they would work to reach a compromise before the legislative session ends.