Anchorage

Here’s what to know about voting in Anchorage’s April election.

About 210,000 ballots were mailed out Tuesday for Anchorage’s April 5 municipal election.

This year, voters will decide on five Assembly seats and two school board seats, each with several candidates. Voters will also see multiple bond propositions on their ballots, including $45.6 million in city bond packages and a $111 million school district bond proposal.

Assembly members are chosen only by the voters living in their district, while school board members are elected at-large, meaning all Anchorage voters will see the full list of school board candidates on their ballots.

There are four incumbent Assembly members running against a slate of challengers, with seats up for election in District 3- West Anchorage, District 4 - Midtown, District 5 - East Anchorage, District 6 - South Anchorage, and in District 2 - Eagle River, where there is no incumbent in the race.

Two incumbent school board members, including the current board president, are running against several challengers.

[2022 Anchorage municipal election guide: Q&As with candidates for Assembly and School Board]

Voters can find a FAQ, list of candidates and a list of ballot propositions on the city’s election website.

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Although Anchorage switched to a vote-by-mail system in 2018, residents have several options for casting their ballots. Voters also can cast a ballot in-person at one of the city’s three vote centers, mail in their ballot package or apply to vote by fax or email. The city also has 18 secure drop boxes open starting Tuesday where voters can return their ballots up until 8 p.m. on election day.

Mailed-in ballots must be postmarked on or before election day, and voters who return their ballot envelopes the day before or on election day should ask a postal official to hand-stamp the envelope with a postmark to ensure their ballot is counted.

Applications to vote by fax or email must be received by the Municipal Clerk’s Office by March 29 at 5 p.m. Call the voter hotline (907-243-8683) or email for an application at Elections@AnchorageAK.Gov. Voters who are temporarily away from home can apply to have a ballot mailed to them where they are, but must fill out an application to vote at a temporary address by March 29 at 5 p.m.

This year, the city is implementing a new ballot tracking system, so that Anchorage voters who sign up for the system at anchoragevotes.com can get automatic text, email or phone-call updates on the status of their ballot. Residents can also call the voter hotline at 907-243-8683 to find out if their ballot envelope has been received and processed.

Also new this year, the elections center has been livestreamed 24/7 on YouTube since March 1 in an effort to improve voter trust and election security. Last year, the livestream was only available primarily from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. while workers were in the elections center, though cameras recorded 24/7.

Although the elections team begins processing envelopes and ballots several days before election day, there will be no vote results until about 8:30 p.m. on election day — and those results will be preliminary.

Because ballots will continue to arrive at the elections center by mail after election day, the tallies will continue to change, possibly up until the day of vote certification by the Assembly. That’s because a ballot from an overseas voter that is postmarked on or before election day can be received and counted up until noon on the day of vote certification.

Regular mailed-in ballots will be accepted up until the public session of canvass, which is scheduled for April 18, according to the elections calendar.

The Anchorage Assembly is set to take up the certification of the vote results on April 26th, according to the elections calendar.

Voters who recently moved and did not yet update their address in the state’s voter registration database can call the voter hotline at 907-243-8683 to request a ballot package at a new address.

Anchorage’s three vote centers will open for in-person voting on Monday, March 28. The locations are at City Hall, 632 West 6th Ave., Room #155; Eagle River Town Center, 12001 Business Blvd., Community Room #170; and the Loussac Library, 3600 Denali St., in the Assembly chambers.

The Eagle River vote center will have only Chugiak-Eagle River ballots.

Vote center hours:

• 9 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, March 29-April 4, and 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday, April 2.

• Noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, April 3.

• 7 a.m - 8 p.m. on election day, Tuesday, April 5.

Emily Goodykoontz

Emily Goodykoontz is a reporter covering Anchorage local government and general assignments. She previously covered breaking news at The Oregonian in Portland before joining ADN in 2020. Contact her at egoodykoontz@adn.com.

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