Anchorage election update: With thousands more ballots counted, local alcohol tax fails

The daily ballot count continued on Friday with just over 7,000 additional votes tallied in Anchorage’s vote-by-mail election. All outcomes remained unchanged.

Voters continued to reject a local alcohol tax. Anchorage Assembly candidates Crystal Kennedy, Kameron Perez-Verdia and Meg Zaletel had strong leads over their opponents, as did Anchorage School Board candidates Margo Bellamy and incumbent Starr Marsett.

[Anchorage on track to return Berkowitz-aligned majority to Assembly]

All of the bond propositions were passing except one: A $5.5 million bond for area-wide facility improvements. Voters were also approving a proposition that would expand enforcement of junk and abandoned vehicles, and a proposition to make it easier for the city to negotiate lease-to-own agreements for rented real estate.

[Bellamy, Marsett lead in Anchorage School Board races that attracted big advertising spending]

Friday’s ballot count brought the total number of votes tallied so far in this year’s election to 63,476, putting the turnout at nearly 28 percent. Another 2,000 or so ballot envelopes had been received by Friday afternoon, according to election officials. On top of that, ballots mailed and postmarked by Tuesday, election day, continue to trickle in. The results won’t be official until April 16.

Go to muni.org for the full list of election results.