If you don’t want to deal with the lines and chaos of election day, or you’re going to be out of town for this year’s City and Borough of Juneau Municipal Election, you can now vote anytime you want.
Early voting opened up this past Friday, and starting Monday, voting booths are open at City Hall and the Mendenhall Mall Annex. Anybody can vote at either location. The City Hall voting area is in the foyer of conference room 224 on the second level, and will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday. The Mendenhall Mall Annex will be open to voters from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Friday.
People can also vote on two Saturdays at the Mendenhall Mall Annex: Sept. 22 and Sept. 29, from noon to 4 p.m.
It’s a crowded field in this year’s Municipal Election, which takes place Oct. 2. There are four mayoral candidates and eight Assembly candidates battling for four open seats. There are also three Board of Education candidates vying for three open seats.
People can still file to receive absentee ballots, too. Voters can apply at the Clerk’s Office at City Hall or can go to the city’s election website, https://beta.juneau.org/clerk/elections. Applications for by-mail ballots are due Tuesday, Sept. 25.
After Sept. 25, voters wishing to vote absentee can apply to vote by fax. People can head to the aforementioned city elections website for those applications, which are due the day before the election at 5 p.m.
Voters who are unable to go to a polling place because of age, illness or disability can appoint a personal representative to obtain a ballot up until election day. The voter can contact the Clerk’s Office — 586-5278 or city.clerk@juneau.org — to make arrangements.
For more on the candidates, readers can refer to the Municipal Election Guide in Sunday’s paper or go to the Empire’s website to view it in Sunday’s E-edition. There are also candidate details on the CBJ’s website, which can be found at the city’s election website.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
