The House State Affairs Committee took public testimony Feb. 13 on House Bill 43, a comprehensive elections bill that would change registration windows, expand early voting and alter absentee-ballot procedures across Alaska.

Staff presented a sectional analysis that lists the bill’s major changes: permit registration within 30 days before or on election day (sections 1–4); allow those who register within 30 days to cast absentee in‑person, special-needs or question ballots; require the Division of Elections to provide instructions on party-affiliation completion; replace the current 15-day early-voting window with a 30-day early-voting window at designated early-vote stations; provide postage-paid return envelopes for absentee ballots; eliminate the witness-signature requirement; require the Division to begin reviewing absentee ballots 10 days before Election Day; and create a ballot-curing process that would allow voters to correct deficiencies so their ballots would be reviewed by the State Review Board (staff summary, sections 1–29). The bill also includes an uncodified provision setting an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026.

Supporters said several provisions expand access. Rob Weldon of Douglas said HB 43 "will increase access to the ballot box" and praised the postage-paid envelope and a ballot-curing process. Michelle Spark, director of Get Out the Native Vote, noted HB 43’s curing process and postage-paid envelopes could reduce rejections, especially in rural communities where mail access is challenging. League of Women Voters members and municipal election officials also supported postage-paid return envelopes, elimination of the witness-signature rule, and a curing process that gives voters a chance to fix missing information before ballots are rejected.

Opponents and some election officials warned of operational and security trade-offs. Randy Rudrick and other witnesses said same-day registration and elimination of witness signatures carry fraud risks and could increase the Division’s workload. Peggy Robinson, an early-vote coordinator in Anchorage, said expanding early voting to 30 days would strain election workers and chairs who already work long hours; Director Carol Beecher of the Division of Elections told the committee that moving early voting to 30 days would impose substantial logistical challenges because of ballot printing, candidate withdrawal deadlines and overlapping election events (including REAA elections). Beecher said the early-voting change would affect the 12 statewide early-vote stations and could require redoing the fiscal note for staffing and overtime costs.

Senator Mike Schauer, appearing as a testifier, said he supports several HB 43 reforms but urged the committee to pair access improvements (curing, paid postage) with stronger ballot-tracking and verification measures. He said Alaska’s voter rolls have been inflated by repeated automatic registrations tied to the Permanent Fund Dividend application process and noted that after PFD-based registrations the Department of Revenue removed roughly 44,000 entries last year; he said any expansion of access should address roll accuracy and verification.

Committee members asked detailed operational questions: how barcode-based tracking would function in Alaska’s mail environment; how multilingual sample ballots are produced and at what internal deadlines; and the fiscal impact of expanding early voting. Sponsor staff provided a section-by-section summary and noted the bill designates early-vote stations to begin at 30 days before an election, while a staff-produced fiscal estimate (discussed with the Division) placed recurring biannual staffing costs at roughly $141,800 for the additional period at early-vote stations (an additional $47,500 would be required to include absentee in-person locations, per sponsor-staff fiscal summary).

No committee vote was taken on final passage. The sponsor’s staff and the Division agreed to continue technical discussions about ballot printing schedules, multilingual sample ballots, ballot tracking and fiscal implications. The committee set HB 43 aside for a future hearing and did not set an amendment deadline at the Feb. 13 meeting.

Why it matters: HB 43 packages several access-oriented reforms (curing, postage-paid envelopes, extended early voting and expanded late registration) that supporters say will reduce ballot rejections and increase participation, particularly in rural communities. Division officials and some testifiers warned these changes would require operational changes, additional staffing and improved tracking to preserve verification and integrity.

What remains open: How the committee will balance access and verification, the final fiscal cost, whether early-vote expansion will include absentee in‑person stations, and any amendments the committee will consider in future hearings.