The Alaska Division of Elections found no changes to the results of the vote for Ballot Measure 2 following an audit of ballots on Dec. 10 in Juneau. The package of election reforms slowly crept to victory as more ballots were counted and the final count was certified by the state on Dec 1.
Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer ordered an audit of the vote after concerns from the public about the state’s voting machines and in a statement Monday, DOE said the results were the same as previously certified.
“This audit showed what the division knew it would; that our equipment worked properly, and the 2020 General Election was administered accurately and fairly in the state of Alaska,” said Gail Fenumiai, Division of Elections director, in the statement.
[General election results certified, but recount possible in close race]
A bipartisan group of 30 people who previously served on DOE’s Absentee Review Board and State Review Board came together in Juneau on Dec. 7, to perform the audit, according to DOE. The group reviewed and sorted 361,400 ballots one-by-one and then counted the yes and no ballots to compare numbers to the numbers already certified.
DOE welcomed groups of observers from both the yes and no sides of Ballot Measure 2 who observed the process daily, according to DOE. The division said in the statement it hopes that the transparency of the audit and those who observed the process will help instill confidence and trust in the election among voters.
“I thank our elections officials and volunteers for conducting a thorough audit of the Ballot Measure 2 and assuring Alaskans that our elections were conducted fairly,” Lt. Governor Kevin Meyer said in the statement.
Results of the audit can be found at DOE’s website: elections.alaska.gov
• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnuEmpire.
