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Alaska2026Passed Legislature

SB289

Alaska Election Rules and Voter Registration Updates

Last scannedSep 22, 2026, 12:32 AM

In one sentence

This bill removes hunting or fishing licenses as acceptable ID for voter registration, requires annual address confirmation notices sent by forwardable mail and email to certain voters, allows the use of Permanent Fund Dividend data only for registration tasks, and sets rules for inactivating registrations if voters do not respond.

What it does

  • Removes hunting or fishing licenses from the list of acceptable IDs needed when registering to vote in person or by mail.
  • Requires election officials to send address confirmation notices via forwardable mail and email at least once a year starting in January to voters who have had returned mail, not contacted the division recently, did not vote recently, or show signs of moving out of state.
  • Allows voter registrations to be marked as inactive if the voter does not respond to an address notice within 45 days.
  • Permits the Division of Elections to use Permanent Fund Dividend application data only for registering new voters and maintaining voter lists.
  • Requires officials to submit an annual report on how shared dividend records affect election security, voter roll maintenance, and information protection.

Who it affects

  • People who want to register to vote in Alaska using a hunting or fishing license as identification.
  • Registered voters whose mail has been returned, who have not voted recently, or who may have moved out of state.
  • The Division of Elections and the Department of Revenue regarding how they share voter data.

Limits and unknowns

  • The official effective date is not listed in the source material.
  • The bill text provided ends before listing all specific regulations for reviewing deceased voters or those convicted of felonies involving moral turpitude.

Plain language

Terms to know

Forwardable Mail
Mail that can be sent to a new address if the recipient has moved, unlike nonforwardable mail which is returned.
Voter Roll Maintenance
The process of checking voter lists to confirm addresses, find duplicate names, detect voters who have moved or are ineligible, and update records.

Official record

Sources

Source checked
Official bill pageIntroduced textCurrent bill text
Read the official summary

ELECTIONS An Act relating to elections; relating to voters; relating to voting; relating to voter registration; relating to election administration; relating to campaign contributions; relating to write-in candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States; relating to the crimes of unlawful interference with voting in the first degree, unlawful interference with an election, and election official misconduct; relating to voter registration on permanent fund dividend applications; relating to the duties of the commissioner of revenue; and providing for an effective date.

Official activity

Bill history

  1. (S) Heard & HeldText
  2. (S) STATE AFFAIRS at 03:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)Text
  3. (S) REFERRED TO STATE AFFAIRS2505
  4. (S) GOVERNOR'S TRANSMITTAL LETTER2505
  5. (S) FN1: (GOV)2505
  6. (S) STA, FIN2505
  7. (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS2505