Election results of two key issues are on hold in Barrow because of problems with vote-counting machines.
The North Slope Borough mayor's race seems to have drawn many people to the polls. It resulted in hundreds of write-in votes, said borough clerk Jeannie Brower. That might be good news for Fenton Rexford of Kaktovik, who's a write-in and one of five candidates.
Rexford is a write-in candidate because he missed the deadline to get his name on the ballot by a day, Brower said. His mailed application was post-marked in time. But the borough doesn't count the post-marked date, and it was late by the time it reached Barrow. Rexford, an assembly member, is working to change the borough law so postmarked dates are used in the future.
Who's leading so far? Charlotte Brower, wife of former borough mayor Eugene Brower, said Jeannie Brower. A run-off is a strong possibility.
The vote tallying from yesterday's election is on hold until the results from Point Lay arrive by plane, said borough clerk Jeannie Brower. The borough has results from other villages on the North Slope. The vote-counting machine broke in Point Lay, so ballots need to be hand-tallied, said Brower.
The clerk's office in Barrow will do that because the staff is more experienced than the one in Point Lay, Brower said. The plane from Point Lay should be arriving to Barrow this morning.
The borough mayor's race is a big one because the winner will have a bull-horn voice in whether oil companies can drill for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off Alaska's coast, and if so, how.
A lot of voters seem to have turned out for the election, in part because of yesterday's other election at the City of Barrow, Brower said. Besides the election of two city council members, voters were asked to decide if the city of Barrow should open a liquor store in the damp city. Some have said the store would allow the city to make money while also controlling the flow of booze in a region with an uncomfortable past with alcohol.
One of the city's two AccuVote machines broke, said Mayor Bob Harcharek. City staff were up late Tuesday night starting the hand-count, and were continuing the process Wednesday morning, he said.
(This is a developing story. Check back for updates.)
Contact Alex DeMarban at alex(at)alaskadispatch.com