Municipal elections start March 14 in Anchorage

By
Suzanne Downing
-
6

The election in Anchorage is just 9 days away. The ballots for the upcoming municipal election will be mailed to voters March 14; some people will be receiving them in the mail the very next day. They will have until April 5 to return them to the Municipal Election Office, which is run by Municipal Clerk Barbara Jones, whose employer is the sitting members of the Anchorage Assembly.

New this year is a ballot-tracking system. Voters can find out the status of their ballot by using BallotTrax at anchoragevotes.com, where they can sign up for texts, email, or voicemail alerts regarding ballot status. Voters may also call the Municipal Voter Hotline at 907-243-VOTE (8683) to confirm ballot return envelope status. Callers will be required to provide information over the telephone to confirm identity.

Who is on the ballot

School Board Seat A 

  • Cliff Murray 
  • Dan Loring
  • Margo Bellamy – liberal endorsed
  • Mark Anthony Cox – conservative endorsed

School Board Seat B 

  • Kelly Lessens – liberal endorsed
  • Benjamin R. Baldwin
  • Dustin Dardin 
  • Rachel Ries – conservative endorsed

Assembly Seat 2-A Chugiak-Eagle River

  • Kevin Cross – conservative endorsed
  • Gretchen Wehmhoff – liberal endorsed
  • Vanessa Stephens

Assembly Seat 3-D

  • Kameron Perez-Verdia – liberal endorsed
  • Nial Sherwood Williams
  • Liz Vazquez – conservative endorsed

Assembly Seat 4-F

  • Meg Zaletel – liberal endorsed
  • Kathy Henslee – conservative endorsed

Assembly Seat 5-H

  • Stephanie Taylor – conservative endorsed
  • Forrest Dunbar – liberal endorsed
  • Chris Hall

Assembly Seat 6-J

  • Darin Colbry
  • John Weddleton – liberal endorsed
  • Randy Sulte – conservative endorsed

Six area-wide borrowing-spending proposals:

Proposition 1 – $111,090,000 Anchorage School District Capital Improvement Bonds

Proposition 2 – $2,400,000 Areawide Facilities Capital Improvement Bonds

Proposition 3 – $2,380,000 Anchorage Public Safety and Transit Capital Improvement Bonds

Proposition 4 – $34,870,000 Anchorage Roads and Drainage Service Area Road and Storm Drainage Bonds

Proposition 5 – $3,875,000 Anchorage Parks and Recreation Service Area Capital Improvement Bonds

Proposition 6 – $2,100,000 Anchorage Fire Service Area Fire Protection Bonds

There are also area-specific spending and taxation measures on the ballot.

Although the election is referred to as the “April 5 election,” those who wait until April 5 to send in their ballots by mail or drop them in the clerk’s drop boxes around town may find their ballots are tossed for various reasons — such as a stray mark on the ballot or a signature that is missing or doesn’t match what is on file with the clerk. They may not have time to fix or “cure” a ballot that has been rejected. In 2021, many people complained that they were not given fair opportunity to fix a rejected ballot.

The best way to make sure your ballot is counted is to vote it immediately and send it in. Then, check the ballot-tracking website to see if it has arrived. This doesn’t mean the ballot was counted, but you will at least know if it was received. Check your mail frequently to see if a letter from the Municipal Clerk has arrived that tells you your ballot was rejected and how you can cure it. The best way to cure your ballot is to go to the Municipal Election Office at Ship Creek, 619 East Ship Creek Avenue and demand that someone at that office verify your ballot is accepted. It is important to take photographs to document your experience, should you wish to challenge a decision by the clerk.

Those who wish to vote in person have three places to visit — these are essentially “staffed” drop boxes. Voting in person in Anchorage does not mean traditional voting nor does it provide greater likelihood of your ballot being counted. It simply means you can get a ballot from someone, vote it, and then drop it in the drop box:

City Hall
632 West 6th Avenue, Room #155
All Municipal ballots will be available at this location.
Weekdays, March 28 – April 4, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. 
Saturday, April 2, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. 
Sunday, April 3, Noon – 5 p.m. 
Election Day, April 5, 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. ​​​

Eagle River Town Center
12001 Business Boulevard, Community Room #170 (same building as the library)
Only Chugiak-Eagle River ballots will be available at this location.
Weekdays, March 28 – April 4, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 2, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday, April 3, Noon – 5 p.m.
Election Day, April 5, 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.​

Loussac Library 
3600 Denali Street
All Municipal ballots will be available at this location.
Weekdays, March 28 – April 4, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 2, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday, April 3, Noon – 5 p.m. 
Election Day, April 5, 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. 

Unstaffed drop boxes

Secure drop boxes will be opened starting as soon as ballot packages are mailed, ​for voters to return their ballot at any time before 8 p.m. on April 5.

Locations:

Vote by mail

If you choose to mail your ballot, make sure you put postage on it; otherwise, it may be returned. The cost is a 58-cent stamp or a Forever stamp.

Vote at a temporary address

If you will be away and unable to receive your ballot at your registered mailing address during the 21-day period before Election Day, you may request that a ballot be sent to a temporary address by completing the Application to Vote at a Temporary Ad​dress​​​. Applications to vote at a temporary address must be received by the Municipal Clerk’s Office by 5 p.m., one week before election day.

Vote by email

If you would like to vote by email, you may request that a ballot be sent to you via email by completing the Application to Vote by Email, available by contacting [email protected] or 907-243-VOTE (8683). Completed applications to vote by email shall be processed if received by the Municipal Clerk’s Office by 5 p.m., one week before Election Day. Applications to vote by email received after this date will be processed subject to availability of staff and resources. Applications received after 5 p.m. the day before Election Day will not be processed.

By using electronic transmission to return your voted ballot, you are voluntarily waiving a portion of your right to a secret ballot, and you are voluntarily disclosing personal identifying information. By using electronic transmission to return your voted ballot, the integrity of the data on your voted ballot is not guaranteed and you are assuming the risk that a faulty transmission may occur. Firewalls in servers often isolate emails and strip attachments that potentially may contain viruses. It is your responsibility to follow up and confirm that your application and completed ballot were received by MOA Elections. 

Vote by fax

If you would like to vote by fax, you may request that a ballot be sent to you via fax by completing the Application to Vote by Fax, available by contacting [email protected] or 907-243-VOTE (8683). Completed applications to vote by fax shall be processed if received by the Municipal Clerk’s Office by 5:00 p.m., one week before Election Day. Applications to vote by fax received after this date will be processed subject to availability of staff and resources. Applications received after 5 p.m. the day before Election Day will not be processed.

By using electronic transmission to return your voted ballot, you are voluntarily waiving a portion of your right to a secret ballot and you are voluntarily disclosing personal identifying information (PII). By using electronic transmission to return your voted ballot, the integrity of the data on your voted ballot is not guaranteed and you are assuming the risk that a faulty transmission may occur. Please keep in mind that firewalls in servers often isolate emails and strip attachments that potentially may contain viruses. It is your responsibility to follow up and confirm that your application and completed ballot were received by MOA Elections.   ​ 

For more Municipal voting information, call 907-243-VOTE (8683) or e-mail us at [email protected].  

Muni tries to explain why so slow in Anchorage election ballot count

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6 COMMENTS

  2. The fraud starts March 14 as well. Actually Barb Jones probably already had the results tucked away in her desk drawer.

  3. Vote by fax?? Is this new? A fax can come from anywhere in the world. Looks like there will be about 110% voter turnout. I would like to know what the percentage of faxed in votes are for Democrats. About 99.9%?

  4. After reading all the bio and information I found on the candidates, I have a Question about School Board Seat A. I see you have Mark Anthony as being endorsed by conservatives, but after reading all I could I found that Cliff Murray appears to be more in line with conservativeness, and he want to get rid of CRT in Schools. What is your thoughts?

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