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HOUSE BILL NO. 138
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS
Introduced: 3/17/21
Referred: Judiciary, State Affairs, Finance
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
1 "An Act relating to elections; requiring a risk-limiting audit of selected election results;
2 requiring state elections and local elections conducted by the state to be conducted by
3 mail; requiring certain vote-by-mail ballots and election materials to be provided in
4 certain written languages other than English; establishing an online ballot tracking and
5 registration verification system; establishing vote centers, ballot drop boxes, and ballot
6 tabulation centers; eliminating the use of precincts, polling places, absentee ballots, and
7 questioned ballots in certain elections; establishing new elections offenses; and providing
8 for an effective date."
9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
10 * Section 1. AS 15.07.060 is amended by adding new subsections to read:
11 (g) The director shall provide every applicant for registration or reregistration
12 the opportunity to designate, from among the written languages in which the division
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1 is required to print election materials under 52 U.S.C. 10503, as amended, the
2 language in which the applicant prefers to receive ballots and other election materials
3 printed for an election held under AS 15.20.800 - 15.20.895. If an applicant requests
4 that ballots and election materials be printed in an applicable language, the director
5 shall provide the applicant with ballots and election materials in the applicant's
6 selected language under AS 15.20.805. If an applicant requests ballots and election
7 materials in a written language in which the division is not required under 52 U.S.C.
8 10503, as amended, to print ballots and election materials, the director shall notify the
9 applicant that ballots and election materials printed in that language are not available
10 and allow the applicant another opportunity to select a language under this subsection.
11 An applicant who does not indicate a language preference shall be provided with
12 ballots and election materials printed in English. The division shall provide an
13 applicant who has made a request under this subsection with ballots and election
14 materials in the applicant's selected language until the earlier of the date that
15 (1) the applicant's voter registration is inactivated or cancelled; or
16 (2) the division is no longer required under 52 U.S.C. 10503, as
17 amended, to print ballots and election materials in the requested language.
18 (h) The division shall provide the option for each applicant who requests
19 registration or reregistration under this section to provide an electronic mail address,
20 telephone number, or both to contact the individual regarding a defect in a ballot cast
21 by the individual under AS 15.20.800 - 15.20.895 or if the ballot is otherwise
22 challenged.
23 * Sec. 2. AS 15.15 is amended by adding a new section to read:
24 Sec. 15.15.455. Risk-limiting audits. (a) In addition to the ballot counting
25 review conducted under AS 15.15.420 - 15.15.440 and AS 15.20.865(f), after each
26 state election but before the certification of the ballot counting review under
27 AS 15.15.450, the director shall conduct a risk-limiting audit of selected election
28 results. The audit must be designed using statistical methods to limit the risk of
29 certification of an election result that is inconsistent with the result that would be
30 obtained by conducting a recount.
31 (b) The director shall adopt regulations necessary to implement and administer
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1 (a) of this section. The regulations must include a procedure for selecting which
2 election results to audit. In adopting regulations under this subsection, the director
3 shall consult recognized statistical experts, equipment vendors, and municipal clerks
4 and shall consider best practices for conducting risk-limiting election audits.
5 * Sec. 3. AS 15.20.800 is repealed and reenacted to read:
6 Sec. 15.20.800. Voting by mail. The director shall conduct by mail
7 (1) a state primary, general, special, or special primary election to
8 (A) select, nominate, or elect a governor, a lieutenant governor,
9 an acting governor, a state senator, or a state representative;
10 (B) retain or reject a justice or judge seeking retention in office
11 under art. IV, Constitution of the State of Alaska, and AS 15.35;
12 (C) determine whether a constitutional convention shall be
13 called and to select, nominate, or elect delegates to a constitutional convention;
14 (D) approve or reject an initiative submitted under art. XI,
15 Constitution of the State of Alaska, and AS 15.45.010 - 15.45.245;
16 (E) approve or reject a referendum submitted under art. XI,
17 Constitution of the State of Alaska, and AS 15.45.250 - 15.45.465;
18 (F) recall an official identified in (A) of this paragraph when
19 authorized by art. XI, Constitution of the State of Alaska, and AS 15.45.470 -
20 15.45.720;
21 (G) approve or reject a proposed amendment to the
22 Constitution of the State of Alaska submitted under AS 15.50;
23 (H) ratify or reject a state general obligation bond under
24 AS 37.15; or
25 (I) administer an advisory vote when authorized by the
26 legislature by law; and
27 (2) other elections that the state is required by law to conduct,
28 including
29 (A) a special election authorized by AS 04.11.507(c) calling for
30 a local option, change in local option, or removal of local option unless the
31 petition of the residents of the established village asks that the provisions of
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1 this section not apply to that special election;
2 (B) an election authorized by AS 14.08.071 unless the regional
3 educational attendance area board adopts a resolution for the purpose that is
4 approved by the voters and filed with the office of the director determining that
5 the provisions of this section do not apply;
6 (C) an election authorized by AS 29.05.110, whether conducted
7 separately or in combination with an election under AS 29.05.120, or an
8 election authorized by AS 29.06.140 or 29.06.510, unless the Local Boundary
9 Commission recommends to the director that the provisions of this section not
10 apply to the election;
11 (D) an election authorized
12 (i) by AS 30.13.010 to establish a regional resource
13 development authority or to elect the initial members of the board of
14 governors of the authority unless petitioners request that the provisions
15 of this section not apply; or
16 (ii) by AS 30.13.020 unless the board of governors of
17 the regional resource development authority adopts a resolution stating
18 that the provisions of this section do not apply and the resolution is
19 ratified by the voters of the development area and filed with the office
20 of the director.
21 * Sec. 4. AS 15.20 is amended by adding new sections to article 4 to read:
22 Sec. 15.20.805. Procedures for conducting an election by mail. (a) For each
23 election held under AS 15.20.800 - 15.20.895, the director shall send an official ballot
24 to each person whose name appears on the official registration list prepared under
25 AS 15.07.125 for that election. Except as provided in (b) of this section, the director
26 shall send the ballot, a secrecy sleeve, a voter's certificate, and a return envelope with
27 postage prepaid by first class, nonforwardable mail, to the address stated on the
28 official registration list unless
29 (1) the voter has notified the director or an election supervisor of a
30 different address to which the ballot should be sent; or
31 (2) a previous mailing to the address on the official registration list has
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1 been returned to the division as undeliverable.
2 (b) The director shall prepare the ballot, secrecy sleeve, voter's certificate,
3 return envelope, and other material used in an election held under AS 15.20.800 -
4 15.20.895. The voter's certificate must include a space for a voter to declare, when
5 required, that the voter is a qualified voter, and a space for the voter's signature. The
6 voter's certificate must include a notice that a false statement made by the voter on the
7 certificate is punishable by law. The voter's certificate may be printed on the return
8 envelope. If the division uses ballot counting technology that preserves the
9 confidentiality of a voter's information and ballot choices, the director may mail to a
10 voter a ballot without including a secrecy sleeve.
11 (c) The director shall send ballots under this section not later than 29 days
12 preceding the date of the election. However, the director shall send a special advance
13 ballot prepared under (d) of this section to a person not later than 45 days preceding
14 the date of the election if the person
15 (1) is an absent uniformed services voter or is an overseas voter
16 qualified under AS 15.05.011; or
17 (2) notified the director in writing at least 60 days before the election
18 that the voter expects to be living, working, or traveling outside the United States at
19 the time of the election or expects to be living, working, or traveling in a remote area
20 of the state where distance, terrain, or other natural conditions deny the voter
21 reasonable access to a polling place at the time of the election.
22 (d) The director shall prepare special advance ballots for use under (c) of this
23 section in a state primary, general, special, or special primary election. A ballot
24 prepared for use under this subsection must contain each judicial retention election
25 and ballot proposition or question scheduled to appear on the particular ballot. The
26 director shall list on the ballot the different races to be voted on at the particular
27 election on a statewide basis. If the names of the candidates in a general or special
28 election are not certified before the ballot must be prepared, the director shall prepare
29 a ballot with the name of each candidate appearing on the primary election ballot. The
30 voter may mark candidates for each office in order of preference and mark as many
31 candidates for each office as the voter wishes, but the voter may not assign the same
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1 ranking to more than one candidate for the same office.
2 (e) A return envelope for an absent uniformed services voter or an overseas
3 voter must allow the voter to return the ballot free of postage if required under 39
4 U.S.C. 3406.
5 (f) If a voter requests under AS 15.07.060(g) or, at least 45 days before an
6 election, requests in writing or by other means designated in regulations adopted by
7 the director to receive a ballot in a language other than English in which the division is
8 required to print election materials under 52 U.S.C. 10503, as amended, the director
9 shall provide the voter with a ballot and election materials under this section in the
10 language requested.
11 Sec. 15.20.810. Completion and return of ballot. (a) Upon receiving an
12 official ballot, a voter shall mark the ballot, sign the voter's certificate printed on the
13 return envelope supplied with the ballot, place the ballot in the secrecy sleeve, insert
14 both the ballot and the secrecy sleeve into the return envelope, and return the ballot to
15 the division by mail or by depositing the ballot at a vote center established under
16 AS 15.20.845 or ballot drop box designated by the director under AS 15.20.855.
17 (b) A ballot may not be mailed or deposited at a vote center or ballot drop box
18 by an intermediary who is paid by or who volunteers for a political party, political
19 group, or business or organization to provide that service. However, nothing in this
20 subsection prohibits a voter from giving a completed ballot to a friend, relative, or
21 associate to mail by way of the United States Postal Service or for deposit at a vote
22 center or ballot drop box.
23 Sec. 15.20.815. Ballot tracking and registration verification system. (a) The
24 director shall establish a free online system, available through the division's Internet
25 website, through which a voter may
26 (1) confirm that the voter's ballot has been sent by the division, track
27 the date of the ballot's delivery to the voter, and confirm the division's receipt of the
28 voter's ballot;
29 (2) determine whether the voter's ballot has been counted; and
30 (3) request a replacement ballot under AS 15.20.820.
31 (b) The online system established under (a) of this section must indicate to a
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1 voter whose ballot has not been counted
2 (1) the reason the ballot was not counted; and
3 (2) if the signature on the voter's ballot was missing or was determined
4 not to match the signature in the voter's registration record under AS 15.20.830(c), the
5 process by which the voter may cure the lack of signature or verify the voter's identity.
6 (c) The online system established under (a) of this section must allow an
7 election official access to the names and political affiliations of all persons
8 (1) named on the master register, including those persons whose voter
9 registrations are inactivated under AS 15.07.130(b); and
10 (2) whose names must be placed on the official registration list under
11 AS 15.07.070(c) or (d).
12 (d) In establishing the online system under (a) of this section, the director shall
13 ensure that the design allows a voter to access information easily under (a) and (b) of
14 this section through a mobile electronic device.
15 Sec. 15.20.820. Replacement ballots. (a) A voter may obtain an official
16 replacement ballot if a ballot is destroyed, spoiled, or lost, or if, for any other reason,
17 the ballot has not been received or cannot be used by the voter.
18 (b) A voter may request a replacement ballot electronically, by telephone, in
19 writing, in person, at a vote center established under AS 15.20.845, or by other