Lt. Gov. Meyer introduces election integrity bill

By
Suzanne Downing
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72

Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer on Friday introduced Senate Bill 83, an election integrity bill that could provide additional tools for the Division of Elections to increase Alaskan’s trust in elections.

SB 83 allows for increased post-election audits, stronger requirements for absentee ballot voter certificates, and limited by-mail voting in communities under 750. For those communities, the Division of Elections director would conduct the mail-in voting aspect of the election.

Additionally, it would require the Division of Elections to determine the costs of recounts in regulation, rather than in statute.

“The integrity of our elections is of utmost importance – we cannot have a functioning democracy without it. This bill would not create an overhaul of our existing elections system but rather bolster what already works,” said Meyer.

Meyer said he is expanding the statewide conversation about election security and integrity. In addition to bills presented by Sen. Mike Shower, Sen. Shelley Hughes, and Rep. George Rauscher, the ideas presented in SB 83 reflect the firsthand experience Meyer gained while overseeing the 2020 primary and general elections.

72 COMMENTS

  2. And the problems that need correcting in the current voting system are what? Is this a solution looking for a problem that doesn’t exist or is it the latest attempt at Jim Crow and an effort truly to steal elections.

    • Greg R, I am not familiar with this bill but I can attest to problems within our voting system in previous years. Things like every ballot being written in the same hand for “write in candidate ” Murkowski. Seems a bit odd wouldn’t you agree?
      Your assertion of “Jim Crow” is typical reactionary leftist babble. Our voting rights are sacred, we need to protect the integrity of the system. I would hope that despite political differences people could agree on this, unless they are rascals looking to steal an election.

      • Actually, it wasn’t necessarily the same hand that I witnessed, it was that despite the law, “Murcowski” counted as a vote for “Murkowski.” This is because a judge declared that the statute didn’t matter, i.e., that write-in candidates’ names had to be spelled correctly, for the votes to count.

        • Also “F ___ Murkowski” was counted as a vote for her.. multiple stacks of felons were identified from several villages, all-shockingly voting for Murk, etc etc- there was a TON of fraud in 2010. They may not have needed it- they may have won anyway with the media onslaught-but it was there and DoE and the AK GOP did nothing but help it. It was a sickening time. I assume it’s not been cleaned up any since.

          • Yes, that would have counted as a vote for Murkowski, given the judge’s orders, unfortunately. I witnessed voters stating they would mangle her name in a silly attempt to be funny, but their votes ended up counting for her.

            I do recall in my time working elections that one person told me he was a felon and didn’t know if he could vote. As an election worker, we are encouraged to encourage voting, so I had him vote a question ballot. Whether they caught that or not, I cannot say. Nor can I recall which election that was, but I was following procedure.

    • Mail-in voting is and always way nothing more than an underhanded means to corrupt the electoral process. You know it, and I know it, and everyone else knows it too. It needs to end, NOW, if we are ever going to be able to have an iota of trust in our elections again.

        • And that is pure psychological projection on your part, Joe, and merely representative of virtually every radical leftist authoritarian, who consistently accuse all those who oppose them (e.g., Trump) of the very faults, sins and crimes of which they themselves are guilty. The entire “woke”, “social justice warrior” bullshit agenda is nothing but unvarnished, emotionally-driven dogma, devoid of any logic, reason or rationality.

          • Wrong on multiple levels. I attended the Miller and Murkowski recount from beginning to end. Miller got every vote to which he was entitled according to intent of voter based on objective evidence, which is the legal standard for voter reviews. Murkowski won fair and square because Miller was an inferior choice for the electorate. He lost in large part because he was a lout exhibiting a sense of entitlement that doomed his run to become the US Senator from Alaska. You can chip your teeth all you want about Lisa Murkowski but she was a marginally better candidate in that election cycle compared to Joe Miller, who came accross as a welfare queen.

        • Murkowski won by a judge’s ruling, which at the time was not by the letter of the law, when in fact the law was amended 30 days later to the wording intent. Miller’s argument in court was that as the law was written at the time was clear – signature must be legible to be counted. Judge ruled in favor of Murkowski on intent, then saw to it that the law was amended 30 days later to intent.

    • The problems that need correcting include but are not limited to:

      – Need Real ID for voting / registration
      – Shut down mail-in voting
      – Control length of election (2020 lasted for months)
      – Reinstate witness signature requirement
      – Forensic audit of voting machines on a regular basis
      – Significantly tighten rules for absentee ballots
      – Ballot harvesting illegal
      – Voting machines not able to connect to internet (hacking concern)
      – Shut down auto registration via PFD
      – Scrub state election rolls on a regular basis

      Meyer’s legislation is a start. Not a finish. Cheers –

        • Which is unconstitutional? Election day is specified as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Period. This idea of months of ballot gathering until your side wins is unconstitutional. Fair voting is the basis of our system and every dishonest vote disenfranchises one of the honest voters and should be a severe felony.

        • It is quite rich to be smugly lectured on ‘unconstitutionality’ by a member of the radical authoritarian left, for whom laws and constitutions are merely speedbumps in the road to totalitarianism.

    • Well for one the fact that there was no requirement for a witness of a signature. 2. ballots were sent to everyone with an alaska driver license which includes a lot of summer help from out of state. I’m sure I can find plenty more.

      • Actually, absentees require a witness signature, that is until the AK Supremes got themselves involved last Oct, rewriting state election law, and removed that requirement. A huge number of absentees were voted last year with about a 60-40% dem split.

        Current AK driver’s license does not necessarily equal a Real ID compliant license or ID.

        But thanks for playing. Cheers –

  3. I am happy to see the LT is really alive and well….let’s hope both he and the Governor are again waking up to the need to get our election rules back on track….there is much to do including getting everything they can get together to support the setting aside the Ballot Measure #2 issue…

    • BM2 was strictly pushed by outside money and passed by absentee dump ballots at the last minute. If ever a poster child for fixing the system it is BM2.

        • Are you also Bill Yankee?
          BM2 passed by late night dump of mail in ballots without signature verification as ruled by a judge who thinks that a virus trumps the written law. Some Alaskans voted for Biden too, but lots of us don’t live on the government teat and care about the future of the real economy.

          • Fake analysis.
            And no, I am not Bill Yankee. I use the name given to me and as baptized.
            Is there some reason you use a nom de plume?
            Perhaps you are one of those guys living in mum and dad’s basement posting silly thoughts on blogs in between playing fantasy video games.

          • Joe, many of us feel compelled to use pseudonyms here and in similar online forums, due to the rabid intolerance, hatred and censorship of the “cancel culture” of the authoritarian radical left, which you apparently support.

        • Initials. I own the basement and every one of my offspring supports themselves without the gov teat. And sadly not fake analysis, and with the lack of signature verification we will never know the honesty of that election. More sadly, BM2 will be decided by the same leftist courts that gave us the last election.

    • If Alaskans did this to themselves, then it came with the help of Walker appointed Judge Dani Crosby, who totally overstepped her authority by declaring no need to have signature verification on absentee ballots due to the Wuhan virus. Election integrity BEGINS with knowing WHO is voting. Mail-in ballots are vulnerable to being altered, stolen or forged … which is exactly what the Liberal left wanted. Also, who was behind Prop 2? Why of course the Lincoln Project … and no doubt Lisa Murkowski

  5. After seeing what scrupulous ballot counting, or lack of counting, happened down in the States, I’d love to learn how to be a ballot counter and fo that until i depart this world. At least with me Alaska will know I am one person who won’t throw out any voter’s ballot for voting agianst my personal preference nor being bought into doing it.

  8. How about a complete forensic audit of the November election? I have a hard time believing that a majority of voters in Alaska opted for ranked choice voting. Auditing the election would do far more to assure the populace going forward of election integrity.

    • We need a complete audit of the November election of both the machines and the paper ballots. This is not just a re-count of the ballots since that would just be re-counting potentially fraudulent ballots like they did in Georgia. There are too many instances of fraud in the election to believe that Alaska didn’t also experience this.

      In addition to the battleground state issues, New Hampshire has now found significant issues with a recent audit they did – every Republican in the area recounted “lost” 300 votes or 6% of the votes (it was a small community).

      The only way to hold trustworthy elections is in-person, photo and signature verified, with paper ballots (no machines), and WITHOUT THE CONVOLUTED DIRTY WEIGHTING SCHEMA.

  9. There must be some kind of proof, in writing, signed and notorized, that the ballot requester is not able to vote in person…….with stated reason…….and subject to steep penalties if untruthful.

  10. Did I miss it or was there NO mention of the integrity of the actual voting machines, like the infamous Dominion brand? The machines themselves and the monitoring of the vote counting must be unbiased.

  11. Greg, only democrats steal elections. This is well know and documented. As you are a leftist, I can see why you would object to election integrity.

  12. No ID – NO Vote. No mail -in ballots unless the individual requests one. No Dominion voting machines. No ballot harvesting. Purge voting rolls every 3 years. Make casting an illegal ballot a Felony punishable by mandatory jail time. Pretty easy to clean up the election swamp.

      • You are projecting again, Joe.
        .
        Unvarnished, emotion and control-driven, divorced-from-reality dogma literally defines the entire contemporary radical leftist authoritarian agenda.

        • OK Jeffy:. I defer to you, starting with your inability to comment using your name. Get real, get transparent or get out of the political commentary business and take up basket weaving or something you might be able to do without appearing like a crank.

          • Ah, we have anther intolerant and arrogant radical leftist authoritarian here, I see, who disparages the right to communicate privately and anonymously. Just like your Big Tech censorship-happy bedfellows, you demand the end to ALL privacy.
            .
            Whether your name is really “Joe Geldhof” makes not a damn bit of difference to the content of your comments — they are still just as intolerant, hateful, arrogant and rabidly statist as they would be if you posted under a pseudonym. But like every other radical leftist authoritarian, you cannot rationally and logically deal directly with matters under discussion here, so you dishonestly and disingenuously try to deflect the conversation with personal attacks and focusing on irrelevancies instead.

  13. We need to get rid of mail in voting. There is no way to insure integrity and its a breeding ground for ballot harvesting. In Juneau mail in votes were supposed to have the signature witnessed but at the last minute that requirement was lifted due to COVID (how convenient). The big argument also is that underprivileged minorities don’t have ID and therefore requiring ID is racist. Funny thing, these same people seem to have ID to travel, receive benefits, drive cars, etc.

      • And comment by Joe Geldhof is dogmatic, radical left authoritarian cant that is detached from reality, reason and logic.
        .
        It endlessly amuses how how “you people” (meaning: conformist, radical leftist authoritarians) consistently and invariably project your own worse attributes onto others. It’s almost like a religious ritual or a cult sport with you people.

    • WSB raises valid point. The voter registration rolls should be evaluated from time-to-time and folks who are not residents of Alaska or who have not voted for a considerable period of time dropped from registration rolls. Of course, they can register again if they are still residents and otherwise eligible. Nothing too draconian needed here but a simple, use it or lose it at some point would make elections a tad easier and less expensive to administer.

  15. It’s pretty simple.
    One person, one vote.
    Strong, supportable confirmation of address (ensures local ballots are sent/counted in correct district).
    Clean up the voter registration rolls. Too many dead people, out of state people, etc…
    .
    We have two years (almost) before the next national election. There is no reason why this cannot be cleaned up before then.
    .
    Personal opinion, no mail in voting. If you are not energized enough to go to a polling place, you do not deserve the privilege of voting. Exception for valid reasons, as in disabled, out of state, military, not “I’m too lazy to vote.”

    • Recognized ID in person (we all get voter registration cards) and notarized absentee for those who need them (military deployed, etc.) with the emphasis on NEED. I remember as the child of democrat activists going to the nursing home to ‘help’ people who couldn’t remember their own names to vote democrat.

  16. In person voting on election day.
    Absentee votes with bar code submitted in person with State ID at least one week prior to election day. Absentee votes hand counted.
    Voter State ID mandatory. No ID. No vote.
    Paper ballots with bar code. The voter retains a copy of bar code to verify their vote detail.
    Hand count only. Verified by Party representatives.

    Absolutely No machines, tabulator, digital electronic computing.

  17. What’s needed is paper ballot, linked to voter ID, and almost no way to absentee unless you can prove you can’t leave the house. We need a Wisconsin style system. Then we need an honest DoE that won’t let some group come along and subvert the system.

    • Voting absentee is not just about being able to leave your own house. Absentee ballots are often used my military and college students who are Alaska resident voters but can’t physically get to their polling location because they temporarily live somewhere else. Both military and college caused me to vote absentee more than once so it still needs to be an option for those who need it. Don’t have any problem with requiring a signature though.

    • So, Carl, should we leave dispute resolution to some coffee gathering at a diner? Maybe let the political types police the situation?
      Maybe using the judiciary to apply rule of law might work.

  21. With the current lack of confidence and trust in our election systems by so many of our citizens, the only way to gain it back is to enact, not only the reforms mentioned here, but actual mandatory auditing as a part of every election.

    It should be budgeted and scheduled for ahead of every state wide election period. The process should be outlined by statute and provide for bi-partisan staffing with severe penalties for any interference. Nothing less will ever restore confidence in the system. Honest voting and trust in the system is the cornerstone of our democratic republic and we need to get it back!

  22. I’m curious about Showers’ new bill regarding judges being appointed, especially since it has been judges that have changed election laws.

  23. This is fantastic news because we need it very badly! Unfortunately nothing said in this article will make any significant change to election integrity. If you want to really make an impact, it must have profound measures that will nullify the ability to commit fraud!
    1. No electronic voting, period. Paper ballots only!
    2. Repeal measure 2.
    3. Audits must include signature verification.
    4. Only U.S. Citizens can vote.
    5. Voter roles will be purged of dead voters and people that have moved from the State annually.
    6. Voting can not take place without observers present in close proximity to election workers.

    • 7. Voting in person only (except for limited valid exceptions), with ballot chain of custody every step of the way.
      8. Non in-person votes must be notarized.
      9. Valid recognized ID.
      10. Severe felony penalties for integrity violations with loss of voting rights.

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