The House of Representatives passed House Bill 129, addressing what is widely seen as an excessive number of registered voters in Alaska.
Recent voter registration statistics show that 106% of possible voters in Alaska are registered. With an automatic registration process, a mobile population and the state’s “intent to return” law contributing, Alaska has more voters than eligible adults.
The legislation introduces targeted measures to enhance the accuracy of voter registration, such as mandating the the director of the Division of Elections send confirmation letters to non-domiciled voters to address potential inaccuracies. Additionally, a streamlined process for canceling voter registrations would make it more efficient to remove outdated or invalid entries.
“This legislation is about restoring the integrity of the process and ultimately to build public trust in one of our most fundamental rights; the right of the people to vote,” said Rep. Sarah Vance, House Judiciary Committee chairwoman.
“Our focus is on legislation that directly impacts the lives of our constituents. HB 129 exemplifies the Alaska House Majority’s dedication to proactive governance, responding to the distinctive needs of Alaskans to fortify the foundation of our democratic principles,” added House Speaker Cathy Tilton.
OH NO, dimlibbys are going to be upset that their dead family members can’t vote anymore!
Since it is being marketed as a way to restore integrity to our election process it should be noted that fully 2/3 of Democrats and Independents voted for this bill. That should tell you something. This bill is not opposed by the Democratic Party.
Unfortunately, rather than remove ineligible voters from the voter roll, many ineligible (and non-existent) voters will simply be moved to an “inactive” voter roll under HB129. Yet, you can still vote as an “inactive” voter. You can also request an absentee ballot on behalf of anyone on the “inactive” roll.
The “inactive” voter roll ends up being little more than a list for bad actors to use to facilitate election fraud.
After you have been inactive in Alaska elections and have even gone so far as to move to another state or have registered to vote in another state (two of the possible criteria for achieving “inactive” status) you will be labeled “inactive” but will still remain on the Alaska voter roll, even though it is illegal to vote in Alaska if you are a resident of another state or have registered to vote in that other state. And even after all that you will still remain able to vote in Alaska (illegally) for two more general elections (up to an additional four years) before finally being removed from the voter roll.
HB129 highlights that you can voluntarily cancel your voter registration, but it does nothing to stop your being automatically re-registered to vote in Alaska if you apply for a PFD, even if your application is later rejected because you live in another state.
Rhetorical question: Given that this is 2024, is an election integrity bill supported by the Democratic Party actually an election integrity bill?
Interesting assessment. Can you explain your Yes vote, then?
I’m wondering the same.
Yea, I like to know, many of the conservative Republicans voted for it too. Since I don’t know the names of ALL the Republicans, it looks like most all and many of them (I do know)did vote yes!. Hooray!!, at least some people ARE doing something this year!!
The most dangerous aspect of this bill, in my opinion, is the marketing. Fundamentally, this is not an election integrity bill. It should not be marketed as an election integrity bill. At best, it should be described as an election administration bill. At worst, it is designed to confuse Alaskans about the state of their election process and the level of commitment that most elected officials in Juneau have towards passing critical election integrity reforms.
I measure a bill based on whether it is in fact good policy (not simply “good politics”). I am not on board with simply passing do-nothing bills and then patting ourselves on the back as though we actually solved real problems. Regrettably, in 2024, most bills the legislature passes this year will probably fit that description.
HB129 didn’t cause the current problems, but it also doesn’t fix them. At best, it slightly improves the administration of some minor aspects of our election process. Our voter rolls are still likely to exceed 100% of eligible voters with passage of this bill.
Unfortunately, in the rush to pass “a bill that Democrats don’t hate”, this bill will take some of the air out of the room on passing election reforms that are truly critical and need to be passed immediately. That is a shame. Certainly nothing to celebrate.
Why are Republicans afraid of passing bills that Democrats hate? There are beautiful, critically needed reforms that Democrats hate. Accept it. Work to pass them anyway. Prove that you can implement reforms rather than waiting for Democrats to warm up to the idea. They probably aren’t going to until you first implement beneficial policies. Even then, they still may refuse to acknowledge that they work. Get used to it.
Thank you, David, for providing “the rest of the story”.
And hey, while you’re dealing with “election integrity”, how about outlawing, statewide, mail-in voting? We in the statist hellhole of Anchorage have virtually no chance of honest elections, and overthrowing our Marxist Nine overlords, as long as that abomination is still in place.
No votes are all “Union” supporters. Cheating and fraud is their middle name.
Thank you for for providing this information and SHOWING who voted their decision.
Ya David, how about Chain of Custody issue with mail in voting? There is no proper chain of custody even if you get a returned receipt / non response back like my wife & I got in the 2020 election!
Why, because no ( one) responsible election official takes mail in ballots ” in hand ” “in Custody ” as which should be taken place, wasn’t it just a week ago in Fairbanks a Postal Employee was arrested for stealing checks! If that can happen then why not ballots ! Our State & Federal Government is aiding & abetting fraud(s) to happen & nothing & no one is doing anything about it !!!
Good grief. And good question at the end. Could it still be a step in the right direction?
So Representative Eastman will vote yes for a bill he deems imperfect, interesting. I guess as long as it doesn’t pay a statutory dividend then it’s ok?
The recent Dr Frank visits and videos were really informative. From what I understand, it does not matter if we clean out the voter rolls if we do not fix the system. At this point, cleaning out the voter rolls is a movement to pacify the population. What we need are paper ballots, in-person voting, one-day voting with ID. No ballot harvesting, no mail-in, no absentee UNLESS there is prior approval for a legit reason.
Smoke and mirrors as rep Eastman tells it like it is.
More voters not less from this crap.
My idea come to the voting venue show proof your an Alaskan resident then vote with a pen on a paper ballet that is counted by multiple persons from both sides.
Sad we have legislators that criticize bi-partisan legislation for not being tribal when voting
Tell you what Frank.
How about you list some of the bi-partisan legislation that received no criticism. Go on. Give me one or two examples. Heck. One. One example.
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Because whining about what happens with every single bill ever introduced into any legislature anywhere on the planet is just stupid. Makes you sound absolutely clueless.
Automatically registering anyone that applies for a PFD was a poor idea and a worse plan. Whomever came up w/ that should be chastised and the process should be eliminated. Alaska will see little benefit and much potential harm from answering questions that no one asked.
The State wanted the PFD Applicant list to be used because in rural Alaska the annual PFD applicant list was maybe double the list of people on the voter rolls….. The Court System wanted every available juror. Out here they only draw jurors from 40 mile distance from Bethel. Bethel is a continual employee turnover with the school, native health and basically every other job. Most don’t hang around more than three years. That’s enough for a couple PFDs. Most don’t bother to register to vote, cause they know they’re temporary.
That’s why you’re seeing McCormick vote no on this. He is counting on the mail out ballots for his future campaign.
Now jury duty is drawn from the PFD list, of which a huge portion of the mail out ballots are sent.
I was passed by the voters
100% agree.
I also think the “motor voter” laws should be struck from the books as well.
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If you do not want to register to vote, you should not be compelled to. End of story.
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I do not want more voters, I want more informed voters, and if you cannot bother yourself to register, I have ZERO confidence you have any knowledge whatsoever about the candidates or issues. Please do not vote.
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If they need a jury pool, make the PFD the source, not the voter rolls.
I’m surprised they know what the concept means.
It’s good to finally see some movement on this issue.
Another reason to get rid of the PFD ….it was corrupted by Walker, watered down and now helps to corrupt our elections.
Great. Skagway has had as many registered voters as residents, with a large transient population it can be a bit difficult to weed through. I long suspected that some of these are used illegally by voting absentee, while living and voting elsewhere, under the influence of certain people. When time allows I will do a personal research project and see what can be verified. Unless they get those voter roles cleaned up very fast.
The best voting reforms we can do would include a ban on any automatic registration, and a ban on rank choice voting. They would also include an insistence on in-person voting with picture ID, on voting day ONLY, except in the rarest of circumstances. Early voting and massive mail-in voting magnify the opportunities for fraud.
Commissioner Tshibaka’s 110 page report regarding elections needs and should be to released to the public without any redactions.
I’ve asked Lt. Governor Dahlstrom for the report and she said the Department of Law has it. Why does the DOL have the 110 page report regarding elections?
Yes, it was prepared at taxpayer expense and should have been released to the public long ago.
How much sense does it make to say in one breath that our elections are absolutely secure, but then in the next breath say that the public isn’t allowed to read the actual assessment?
The government can waste a lot of time and energy solving a problem that isn’t there. Start with an audit of the last election and find out how many ineligible voters cast ballots.
The opportunity for fraud exists in any election, and anyone that loses an election wants an excuse.
A TRUE election integrity bill would send the Dominion machines to the junk yard. As was explained by Dr. Douglas Frank, the machines do NOT skew the results, as has been feared. But they “talk” to the closest cell tower, without the knowledge or consent of election officials. As mail-in ballots begin to show a trend that can be extrapolated according to the voting habits of the various precincts, the shortfall is then made up by mail-in ballots.
THUS — a true vote integrity bill would either END mail-in ballots or JUNK the Dominion machines and demand paper ballots, many poll watchers and a secure chain-of-custody.
Does this also mean that many are receiving a PFD that may not qualify? Not to say that soon it won’t matter. But money seems to be a big motivation for lying .
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