JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Officials with the state and with Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage, hope to avoid any confusion about voting in this year’s primary and general elections.
Anchorage has moved to a vote-by-mail system for its local elections.
However, the state has not gone that route and will conduct the Aug. 21 primary and Nov. 6 general elections as normal.
That typically means voting in person. However, a voter also can request an absentee ballot, which can be returned in the mail - one of the options the state offers for casting ballots.
Samantha Miller, communications manager for the state Division of Elections, said officials with the division and municipality planned to meet Monday to discuss the upcoming elections.
She said the division would be doing voter outreach regardless of whether Anchorage had gone to a vote-by-mail system. She said the division wants to work with Anchorage to reduce any potential for voter confusion.
The division has already posted notices on its website and on social media informing voters that state elections this year will not be carried out through Anchorage’s vote-by-mail system. Legislation would be required to move away from the state’s existing precinct-based system, the division says.
The goal of state election officials is ensuring that all voters - including those in Anchorage - have the information they need to cast their ballots, Miller said.
The division is in the process of developing ads, a short video and social media outreach, and ensuring that information is available on its website, she said.
State law requires public noticing of state elections.
Anchorage held its first vote-by-mail election earlier this year. It plans to hold a special, by-mail election on Aug. 7, two weeks before the state primary.
Carolyn Hall, education and outreach coordinator at the municipality, called the special Anchorage election “an added layer of complexity to this.”
She said she planned to speak with state officials on areas where the two could collaborate.
“We do want to mitigate any cause for confusion,” Hall said. “And I know that the state, they’re going to do what’s best for the state.”
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