Alaska Senate Passes Major Elections Reform Bill

0:00It's March 26th. This is Anchorage News Today, powered by AI. Alaska Senate just passed a major elections reform bill on Wednesday, sending it straight to Governor Mike Dunleavy's desk. This comes after years of talks between Democrats and Republicans to update voting rules across the state. The bill sets up a ballot-caring process so voters can fix small errors on their ballots and keep them from getting tossed out. It also makes it simpler for the division of elections to clean up inactive voters from the rolls, something Republicans pushed hard for. Lawmakers showed real bipartisanship with the Senate approving house changes in a 16-4 vote, and the House passing it earlier this week, 23-16. A few minority members crossed over to support it after tweaks dropped some majority priorities like witness requirements on absentee ballots. Other updates speed things up, like letting people track ballots by phone or email, adding tribal IDs for voting while cutting options like utility, bills, and starting ballot reviews

1:0112 days before election day. It also pays return postage on mail ballots and shortens the post-election window to 10 days. With the governor yet to weigh in on a signature or veto, these changes look set to boost both voter access in rural areas and election accuracy, moving forward.