The municipal elections start Tuesday, when ballots are mailed out to all eligible voters. Tuesday is also the day when the drop boxes for those ballots are open. Ballots are due back in by 8 pm on April 4.
On the ballot, voters will decide among several Assembly seats, two School Board seats, and mind-numbing 15 ballot propositions, some of which will create more debt for the taxpayers:
Anchorage Assembly Candidates
District 1 – Seat B – North Anchorage
District 2 – Seat C – Chugiak, Eagle River, JBER
District 3 – Seat E – West Anchorage
Darden, Dustin Thomas House
District 4 – Seat G – Midtown Anchorage
District 5 – Seat H – East Anchorage (2-Year Term)
District 5 – Seat I – East Anchorage
District 6 – Seat K – South Anchorage, Girdwood, Turnagain Arm
Anchorage School Board Candidates – Areawide
School Board – Seat C
School Board – Seat D
Ballot Propositions
+ Proposition 1: Capital Improvements for the Anchorage School District Bonds
+ Proposition 2: Areawide Public Safety and Transit Capital Improvement Bonds
+ Proposition 3: Anchorage Roads and Drainage Service Area Road and Storm Drainage Bonds
+ Proposition 4: Anchorage Fire Service Area Fire Protection Bonds
+ Proposition 5: Chugiak Fire Service Area Fire Protection Bonds
+ Proposition 6: Creation of the Chugach State Park Access Service Area
+ Proposition 7: Girdwood Valley Service Area Local Housing and Economic Stability Power
+ Proposition 8: Approving Annexation of Grandeur Subdivision Lot 1, Lot 2, Lot 3, Lot 4, and Lot 5, to the Rabbit Creek View and Rabbit Creek Heights Limited Road Service Area (LRSA) and Amending the Rabbit Creek View and Rabbit Creek Heights LRSA Boundaries in Anchorage Municipal Code Section 27.30.700, Effective Retroactive to January 1, 2023
+ Proposition 9: Approving Annexation of Spruce Terraces Subdivision to the South Goldenview Rural Road Service Area (RRSA) and Amending the South Goldenview RRSA Boundaries in Anchorage Municipal Code Section 27.30.700, Effective Retroactive to January 1, 2023
+ Proposition 10: Approving De-Annexation of Cromwell Heights Block 1, Lots 1 and 2 from the Lakehill Limited Road Service Area (LRSA) and Amending the Lakehill LRSA Boundaries in Anchorage Municipal Code Section 27.30.700, Effective Retroactive to January 1, 2023
+ Proposition 11: Amending Anchorage Charter Section 13.11 to Change Management Authority for the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) Trust Fund from the Treasurer to a Fiduciary Board and Establishing Primary Fiduciary Duties and Responsibilities Associated with Board Management of the MOA Trust Fund
+ Proposition 12: Residential Real Propery Tax Exemption Increase
+ Proposition 13: Amending the Anchorage Municipal Charter Regarding Filling Vacancies on the Assembly and in the Office of the Mayor, and to Exclude the Costs for Special Elections for These Offices From the Tax Increase Limitation (“Tax Cap”)
+ Proposition 14: Amending the Anchorage Municipal Charter Regarding the Marijuana Retail Tax and Dedicating Tax Proceeds to Child Care and Early Education
+ Special Election Proposition No. A: Anchorage Parks and Recreation Service Area Capital Improvement Bonds
Method of voting
Anchorage is a vote-by-mail jurisdiction since the Assembly passed an ordinance to enact the method 2016. Vote by mail, drop boxes, and limited in-person voting started in 2017.
In-person centers for voting will open on Seward’s Day, March 27.
You may also mail in your ballot. Every return ballot envelope must be signed by the voter, and each signature is validated based on official signatures already on file with the State of Alaska, such as the voter’s registration document, prior election ballot envelopes, motor vehicle transactions, PFD application, etc. Election officials who adjudicate signatures are trained with techniques used to identify matches and forgeries, according to the Municipal Clerk.
If for any reason your ballot is rejected, you have a limited opportunity to “cure” your ballot, between 10-17 days after Election Day. If you go on vacation or travel after Election Day and do not know your ballot has been rejected, you’re outta luck.
You may also track your ballot, by signing up at the Municipality’s tracking system at this link.
The League of Women Voters voter pamphlet with descriptions of the ballot can be found at this link.
