An absentee in-person voting location in Bethel ran out of official ballots on Monday and started recording votes with sample ballots. The move prompted some concern on a popular community Facebook page, but the state said that it was perfectly legal.
State election program manager Brian Jackson said that the use of unofficial ballots is permitted under Alaska statute.
"If a location runs out of official ballots they are permitted to use sample ballots as official ballots, and any voter voting on those samples, their votes will still be counted," Jackson said.
Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher said that her office was notified that official ballots had run out at the Orutsararmiut Native Council (ONC) building in Bethel at some point on Tuesday afternoon, just hours before the absentee in-person polling location closed.
Beecher said that the shortage of official ballots was a result of historic high voter turnout. She said that the number of ballots sent to early and absentee in-person polling locations across the state was based on numbers seen in the 2020 United States presidential election.
According to Beecher, the early polling location for Dillingham also reported running out of official ballots on Monday.
Beecher said that the state did not anticipate any shortage of official ballots on Election Day, Nov. 5.
Anyone with concerns about voting is urged to contact the Alaska Division of Elections at 907-465-4611, or by email at elections@alaska.gov.