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SENATE BILL NO. 1
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY SENATOR SHOWER
Introduced: 1/18/23
Referred: State Affairs, Judiciary, Finance
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
1 "An Act relating to election security, voting, and ballots; and providing for an effective
2 date."
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
4 * Section 1. AS 15.15.030 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read:
5 (18) An official ballot, including an electronic ballot, must contain a
6 watermark, seal, or other security identifier. The division may not count a ballot that
7 does not include the watermark, seal, or other security identifier. In this paragraph,
8 "security identifier" includes an election official's signature.
9 * Sec. 2. AS 15.15 is amended by adding new sections to read:
10 Sec. 15.15.055. Ballot security and chain of custody. (a) The director shall
11 adopt a regulation providing for a ballot security and chain of custody system to
12 account for the original of each used and unused ballot, absentee ballot certificate and
13 envelope, and the paper record of an electronically generated ballot under
14 AS 15.15.032 through a redundant, secure, and sealed system that accounts for the
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1 location and entity that has custody of a ballot or record from the time the ballot is
2 printed or paper record produced, until 22 months after the applicable election is
3 certified under AS 15.15.450. The system must include, for each ballot that leaves the
4 division's immediate custody, an envelope-based barcode or other mechanism
5 sufficient to account for ballot chain of custody at all times the ballot is outside
6 division custody. The division shall continually update the system adopted under this
7 section to ensure that state election practices and procedures are consistent with best
8 practices and procedures and protect the integrity of state elections held under this
9 title. A signed ballot chain-of-custody document must accompany a ballot or group of
10 ballots in the division's possession. An election official shall sign the document
11 immediately upon receiving or releasing a ballot or group of ballots.
12 (b) The director shall adopt a regulation specifying a process to, following the
13 closing of the polls, void all unused ballots, spoiled ballots, and unopened packs of
14 ballots without mutilating or destroying the forensic integrity of the unused ballots,
15 spoiled ballots, or unopened packs of ballots.
16 Sec. 15.15.057. Election offense hotline. (a) The director shall establish a toll-
17 free election offense hotline to receive telephone calls reporting election offenses
18 under this chapter. The director shall publicize the availability of the toll-free hotline
19 and encourage the public to provide information to the division related to voter
20 misconduct or other election offenses under this chapter. The director shall ensure the
21 hotline is continuously staffed during the hours an absentee voting station is open
22 under AS 15.20.045, during the hours an early voting location is open under
23 AS 15.20.064, and for 24 hours after the time the polls open on election day. From 24
24 hours after the polls open until all election results are certified under AS 15.15.450,
25 the director shall ensure an election official is available to respond to calls made to the
26 hotline.
27 (b) The director shall have the election offense hotline number placed on
28 voting machines, ballot envelopes, and other election materials in a manner the
29 director determines will provide maximum public notice of the election offense
30 hotline.
31 * Sec. 3. AS 15.15.060 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
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1 (f) The director shall provide each election board in the state with notices
2 containing the telephone number of the election offense hotline established under
3 AS 15.15.057(a). The election board shall post at least two of the notices in each
4 polling place. The election board shall post the notices so that the notices are
5 conspicuous to voters.
6 * Sec. 4. AS 15.15.250 is amended to read:
7 Sec. 15.15.250. Disposition of spoiled ballot. If a voter improperly marks,
8 damages, or otherwise spoils a ballot, the voter may request and the election board
9 shall provide another ballot, with a maximum of three. The board shall record on the
10 precinct register that there was a spoiled ballot and void and secure [DESTROY] the
11 spoiled ballot immediately without examining it.
12 * Sec. 5. AS 15.20.020 is amended to read:
13 Sec. 15.20.020. Provision for general administrative supervision. The
14 director shall provide general administrative supervision over the conduct of absentee
15 voting. The director shall make available instructions to absentee voters regarding the
16 procedure for absentee voting and use of the online multi-factor authentication
17 system for tracking absentee ballots established under AS 15.20.221.
18 * Sec. 6. AS 15.20.064 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
19 (e) If a voter fails to satisfy the requirements of (b) of this section, the voter
20 shall be allowed to vote a questioned ballot.
21 * Sec. 7. AS 15.20.081(e) is amended to read:
22 (e) An absentee ballot must be marked on or before the date of the election.
23 Except as provided in (h) of this section, a voter who returns the absentee ballot by
24 mail, whether provided to the voter by mail or by electronic transmission, shall use a
25 mail service at least equal to first class and mail the ballot not later than the day of the
26 election to the election supervisor for the house district in which the voter seeks to
27 vote. Except as provided in AS 15.20.480, the ballot may not be counted unless it is
28 received by the close of business on the 10th day after the election. [IF THE BALLOT
29 IS POSTMARKED, IT MUST BE POSTMARKED ON OR BEFORE ELECTION
30 DAY.] After the day of the election, ballots may not be accepted unless received by
31 mail. A ballot received after the day of the election that is not postmarked or is
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1 postmarked after the day of the election may not be counted unless the ballot
2 envelope is marked with a United States Postal Service tracking barcode
3 sufficient to verify that the ballot was mailed on or before the day of the election.
4 * Sec. 8. AS 15.20.203(b) is amended to read:
5 (b) An absentee ballot shall [MAY NOT] be rejected [COUNTED] if
6 (1) the voter has failed to properly sign [EXECUTE] the certificate;
7 (2) [AN OFFICIAL OR THE WITNESSES AUTHORIZED BY LAW
8 TO ATTEST THE VOTER'S CERTIFICATE FAIL TO EXECUTE THE
9 CERTIFICATE, EXCEPT THAT AN ABSENTEE BALLOT CAST IN PERSON
10 AND ACCEPTED BY AN ABSENTEE VOTING OFFICIAL OR ELECTION
11 SUPERVISOR MAY BE COUNTED DESPITE FAILURE OF THE ABSENTEE
12 VOTING OFFICIAL OR ELECTION SUPERVISOR TO PROPERLY SIGN AND
13 DATE THE VOTER'S CERTIFICATE AS ATTESTING OFFICIAL AS REQUIRED
14 UNDER AS 15.20.061(c);
15 (3)] the certificate [BALLOT] is not signed [ATTESTED] on or
16 before the date of the election;
17 (3) [(4)] the ballot envelope, if delivered by mail after the day of the
18 election [POSTMARKED],
19 (A) is not postmarked on or before the date of the election; or
20 (B) does not have a United States Postal Service tracking
21 barcode sufficient to verify that the ballot was mailed on or before the day
22 of the election;
23 (4) [(5)] after the day of election, the ballot was delivered by a means
24 other than mail; or
25 (5) [(6)] the voter voted
26 (A) in person and is a
27 (i) first-time voter who initially registered by mail or by
28 facsimile or other electronic transmission approved by the director
29 under AS 15.07.050, has not provided the identification required by
30 AS 15.15.225(a), was not eligible for waiver of the identification
31 requirement under AS 15.15.225(b), and has not provided the
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1 identifiers required in AS 15.07.060(a)(2) and (3) that can be verified
2 through state agency records described in AS 15.07.055(e); or
3 (ii) voter other than one described in (i) of this
4 subparagraph, did not provide identification described in
5 AS 15.15.225(a), was not personally known by the election official,
6 and has not provided the identifiers required in AS 15.07.060(a)(2) and
7 (3); or
8 (B) by mail or electronic transmission, is a first-time voter who
9 initially registered by mail or by facsimile or other electronic transmission
10 approved by the director under AS 15.07.050 to vote, has not met the
11 identification requirements set out in AS 15.07.060, and does not submit with
12 the ballot a copy of a
13 (i) driver's license, state identification card, current and
14 valid photo identification, birth certificate, passport, or hunting or
15 fishing license; or
16 (ii) current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck,
17 government check, or other government document; an item described
18 in this sub-subparagraph must show the name and current address of
19 the voter.
20 * Sec. 9. AS 15.20.220(b) is amended to read:
21 (b) The state review board shall review and count absentee ballots under
22 AS 15.20.081(e) and (h), absentee ballots properly cured under AS 15.20.222, and
23 questioned ballots that have been forwarded to the director and that have not been
24 reviewed or counted by a district counting board.
25 * Sec. 10. AS 15.20 is amended by adding new sections to read:
26 Sec. 15.20.221. Ballot tracking system. (a) The director shall establish an
27 online multi-factor authentication system. The director may procure the system from a
28 third party. The system must be designed to allow a voter to easily use the system
29 through a mobile electronic device. The system must allow a voter to
30 (1) confirm that the voter's ballot has been sent by the division;
31 (2) track the date of the ballot's delivery to the voter;
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1 (3) confirm the division's receipt of the voter's ballot;
2 (4) determine whether the voter's certificate has been reviewed;
3 (5) determine whether the voter's ballot has been counted; and
4 (6) provide the information necessary to cure a rejected ballot.
5 (b) The online multi-factor authentication system must
6 (1) use multi-factor authentication to verify a voter's identity; and
7 (2) indicate to a voter
8 (A) the process by which the voter may cure the lack of
9 signature or verify the voter's identity, if the signature on the voter's ballot was
10 missing; and
11 (B) the reason the voter's ballot was not counted, if the ballot
12 was not counted.
13 (c) The division may not charge a voter a fee to use the online multi-factor
14 authentication system.
15 Sec. 15.20.222. Procedure for curing uncounted ballot. (a) If a voter returns
16 a ballot and the certificate is missing a signature or the ballot is rejected under
17 AS 15.20.203(b)(5), the director shall immediately make a reasonable effort to contact
18 the voter, explain the ballot deficiency, explain how the deficiency may be cured, and
19 inform the voter of the deadline to cure the ballot. The director shall, within 48 hours
20 and not later than five days after election day, send a notice of deficiency by first
21 class, nonforwardable mail to the address on the voter's registration record and by
22 electronic mail to the voter's electronic mail address if the voter has provided an
23 electronic mail address. If the voter has provided a telephone number, the director
24 shall attempt to notify the voter of the deficiency by telephone call or text message to
25 the voter's telephone number.
26 (b) A notice of deficiency must include a form for the voter to confirm that the
27 voter returned a ballot to the division and to provide a copy of identification accepted
28 by the division under AS 15.15.225(a). The director shall provide a printed copy of the
29 form with the notice of deficiency mailed to the voter. The director shall also make the
30 form available in a format that can be completed and returned electronically.
31 (c) The ballot of a voter who received a notice of deficiency may be counted
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1 only if
2 (1) the voter returns the form sent with the notice of deficiency, the
3 division receives the form within 14 days after election day, and the form confirms
4 that the voter returned a ballot to the division;
5 (2) the voter confirms that the voter returned a ballot to the division
6 and includes a copy of identification accepted by the division under AS 15.15.225(a);
7 and
8 (3) the ballot is otherwise valid.
9 * Sec. 11. AS 15.20.900 is amended by adding new subsections to read:
10 (c) The division shall conduct a routine forensic examination of each precinct
11 tabulator before and after each election.
12 (d) A precinct tabulator may not be connected to the Internet or a cellular
13 network from 24 hours before the polls open on election day until 14 days after the
14 polls close. During this time, all tabulator data shall be loaded from the tabulator onto
15 a separate storage device and transmitted from a computer that is not connected to the
16 tabulator.
17 (e) The division shall develop and apply strict chain-of-custody protocols for
18 precinct tabulators and the separate storage device.
19 (f) The division shall provide a technical subject matter expert appointed
20 under AS 24.20.060(10) full supervised access to all election data, algorithms,
21 software, and equipment, including precinct tabulators, storage devices, voting
22 machines, and vote tally systems.
23 * Sec. 12. AS 15.80 is amended by adding a new section to read:
24 Sec. 15.80.006. Cybersecurity. (a) The director shall, by regulation, develop a
25 cybersecurity program to defend the voter registration records kept by the division
26 against cyber attacks and data breaches and enable the division to detect and recover
27 from cyber attacks. The program must include cybersecurity training for election
28 officials.
29 (b) The director shall develop a nonpublic list of r