If you live in Anchorage, your ballot for the city’s election should be arriving in the mail any time. The city sent out the ballots on March 17, and they’re due on Tuesday, April 7, at 8 p.m. Here’s what to know about who, and what, are on the ballot, where to return your ballot and more.
What’s at stake?
- Six seats on the Anchorage Assembly for three-year terms.
- Two seats on the Anchorage School Board for three-year terms.
- Up to roughly $155 million in bond and tax levy authorizations to pay for various public projects;
- Seats on 31 local service area boards. Only two are contested, and there are no candidates for three of the openings.
Where can I learn more about the candidates?
Alaska Public Media partnered with the Anchorage Daily News to build a candidate comparison guide for the 16 candidates for mayor and the five candidates for Anchorage School Board. Readers and listeners helped inform the questions we asked. Take a look here.
What will be on my ballot?
You’ll get to vote for one assembly seat in your district, and both open Anchorage School Board seats. If there are Service Area Board of Supervisor seats open in your area, that will also be on your ballot.
All ballots will also include Propositions 1, 2, 5, 6, 9 and 10. The remaining ballot propositions only affect parts of the municipality, and may or may not be included on your ballot, depending where you live.
How do I find my district?
If you’re not sure what district you’re in, you can use the municipality’s My Neighborhood map. Anchorage voting districts changed in 2022.
What about the ballot propositions?
The 12 ballot propositions ask voters to authorize roughly $155 million in bonds and tax levy propositions for various public projects. Bonds are a form of long-term debt that the city can only incur with voter approval. If approved, the debts would be repaid over time, generally 20 years, with property taxes. Tax levies are collected over a single year.
Individual tax impacts will vary depending on which service areas a property is located in.
About $107 million of those bonds would fall on property taxpayers across the entire municipality to repay.
- Proposition 1 calls for $79 million for capital improvements for the Anchorage School District, including upgrades to Romig Middle School and construction at several elementary schools. It would cost property owners in the municipality $15.43 per $100,000 of property’s assessed value, paid annually for 20 years. The state of Alaska could reimburse a portion of the debt, decreasing it to as little at $7.82 per $100,000.
- Proposition 5 calls for $7.2 million for capital improvements to community facilities like the Performing Arts Center and the children’s room at the Loussac Library. It would cost property owners $1.22 per $100,000.
- Proposition 6 calls for $8.9 million for public safety and transit projects. It would cost property owners $1.54 per $100,000.
- Proposition 9 calls for $12 million in a special one-time property tax levy to fund the Anchorage School District to the maximum amount allowed by state law. Ballot language states that the money can only be used to offset cuts to student programs and to fund teacher positions. It would cost property owners $27.40 per $100,000 for one year only.
- Proposition 10 is an amendment to remove outdated references about a former telephone utility from the city charter.
Another roughly $48 million would fall on specific service areas within the city to repay.
- Proposition 2 calls for $38 million for Anchorage Roads and Drainage Service Area infrastructure projects. All voters will decide on the measure, but only property owners in the service area would repay the bond, which leaves out Girdwood, Turnagain Arm, Eagle River and most of the Hillside. Property owners would pay $8.42 per $100,000.
- Proposition 3 calls for $6.1 million for projects in the Anchorage Parks and Recreation Service Area. It would cost property owners $1.22 per $100,000. Those in Chugiak, Eagle River, Girdwood, and other places outside the service area would not pay.
- Proposition 4 calls for $350,000 for improvements and reconstruction in the Anchorage Metropolitan Police Service Area at the police department’s Elmore Station. It would cost property owners 60 cents per $100,000. Those in Girdwood and along Turnagain Arm would not repay the bond.
- Proposition 7 calls for $2.5 million to replace aging fire engines in the Anchorage Fire Service Area, which does not include Girdwood and Chugiak. Property owners would pay 46 cents per $100,000.
- Proposition 8 calls for $1.72 million for increased access to Chugach State Park through parking and trail improvements. Property owners would pay 34 cents per $100,000. Those in Chugiak, Eagle River and Girdwood would not repay the bond.
- Proposition 11 requests a mill levy be used for roads and snowplowing in Bear Valley. Property owners in the Bear Valley Limited Road Service Area would pay up to a full mill increase, which would cost up to $75 per $100,000.
- Proposition 12 asks property owners in the Eagle Bluff Estates Subdivision whether a new light service area should be created.
How do I vote?
If you were registered to vote by March 8, your ballot package, which has materials barcoded specifically for you, should have arrived in the mail at the address tied to your voter registration with the state by early next week, according to municipal election coordinator Liz Edwards.
Fill out the ballot card with black or blue ink. Remember to fill out both sides. Put your filled ballot card into the secrecy sleeve, and seal that inside the return envelope. You must use the ballot return envelope that came in the package.
On the outside of the envelope, read and sign the declaration. Your ballot isn’t valid without this signature. A pair of election workers trained in signature verification will eventually check it against your signature on file with the state.
Now your ballot envelope is ready to deliver.
How do I deliver my ballot envelope?
There are three ways. All must be done by 8 p.m. on April 7 for your ballot to be valid.
- Mail it first class through the U.S. Postal Service. Voters should mail ballots early if they choose this option, Edwards said, because a change to the way the U.S. Postal Service processes mail means it isn’t postmarked right away. You can also have a postal worker manually postmark the ballot. Either way, you’ll need to pay for postage.
- Put it in one of the city’s 18 secure drop boxes, which are available now across the Anchorage Bowl plus one in Eagle River and one in Girdwood.
- Take it to one of three Anchorage Vote Centers during their business hours, which will open beginning March 31.
Can I vote electronically?
Yes. You can vote through a secure online portal, by email, or by fax. All three methods require preapproval from the clerk's office. Preapproval can take up to a week, so start the process by March 31. You can email elections@anchorageak.gov or call the municipal voter hotline at 907-243-VOTE (8683).
Can I vote in person?
Yes. While there aren’t any neighborhood polling places, you can take your ballot package to one of the three Anchorage Vote Centers and fill it out in a booth there. Two centers are in Anchorage, at the Loussac Library and City Hall, and the third is in Eagle River. The centers will open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 31 through April 7, and from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on April 4.
The municipality switched from traditional, in-person elections to primarily vote-by-mail elections in 2018. The Anchorage Assembly made a series of policy decisions leading up to the switch beginning in 2015.
What if I didn’t sign my ballot envelope or my signatures don’t match?
Election officials must send you a letter within a few days letting you know about the problem, and laying out ways to fix it. One way involves mailing back a form. The other is to meet with an election official in person.
What if my ballot is damaged, I lose it or I never get one in the mail?
You can request a replacement ballot by calling the city’s voter hotline at 907-243-VOTE (8683).
Or, you can vote in person at one of the Anchorage Vote Centers. You’ll need identification, like a driver’s license, passport, or even a hunting or fishing license.
Either way, the barcode that ties the original ballot return envelope to you will be invalidated. To dispose of the damaged ballot or if the lost ballot turns up, you should tear it up.
You can sign up for ballot tracking at AnchorageVotes.com.
When will we know the election results?
Election workers start scanning ballots a week before election night. Then voting closes at 8 p.m. on April 7, they tabulate the already-scanned ballots – often about half of ballots cast, according to Edwards. Election officials plan to begin publishing partial, unofficial results on the city’s website around 8:30 p.m. that night. Election workers can process up to 10,000 ballots a day.
The Anchorage Assembly must certify the results for them to become official. That vote is scheduled for the Assembly’s regular meeting on April 28.
