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.
