Alaska Lieutenant Governor Kevin Meyer and Governor Mike Dunleavy announced the Election Integrity Bill to improve the way the Division of Elections maintains voter rolls while providing additional tools to ensure a secure election system.
There are changes in the bill to the Permanent Fund Dividend – Automatic Voter Registration process, giving the choice to request voter registration. It also includes amendments and provisions that would require the Division of Elections to maintain the master voter file differently and issue a required report every other year to the legislature. There also will be increases in the transparency of the election process, an improved ballot-counting process, and a toll-free election offense hotline.
The bill will provide additional ways to verify that the person voting an absentee ballot is the voter whose name is on it, such as signature verification equipment. There will be a more thorough definition of crimes around election fraud and election interference.
It also sets up future training for police officers on election offenses, so if they are called to investigate these new crimes, they have the training to complete the investigation appropriately, according to the office of Lieutenant Governor.
The proposed bill aims to make Alaska’s elections more secure and efficient while increasing confidence and integrity in election processes and results. The Election Integrity Bill will be introduced in the next few weeks.