Did you know that the State of Alaska — a place we often tout as one-fifth the size of the Lower 48 states — has only four election ballot drop boxes? Per the Division of Elections, ballot drop boxes are located — one each — in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Soldotna and Wasilla. The Municipality of Anchorage now conducts its elections via mail-in ballot. In addition to relying on the U.S. Postal Service, the municipality deployed 18 ballot drop boxes throughout the municipality.
I pointed this out to the Division of Elections and the lieutenant governor. So far, I have not heard back from them. I also asked my senator and House representative about this. I have not heard back from my rep, but my senator replied. I was informed that the issue of ballot drop boxes was carefully evaluated by the Legislature and rejected due to the excessive cost and lack of feasibility outside Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau.
Cost is a relative concept. When compared to the expense of a highly speculative construction project — think Ambler Road — the cost of deploying drop boxes seems rather small. We have heard the concerns about whether the USPS will be up to the task of handling a high volume of mail-in ballots in November. The expanded use of drop boxes would give voters a much-needed alternative to ensure their ballots arrive securely and on time for counting in this critical election.
— Ted Moninski
Anchorage
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