It’s official, almost.
Ten days after Juneauites finished submitting ballots to elect a new crop of city and school leaders, City and Borough of Juneau Clerk Beth McEwen issued updated election results Friday evening. The latest numbers reflect results from all ballots that have been approved for counting. Earlier vote tallies were issued on Oct. 8 and 11.
The results don’t reflect any significant changes compared to those released Monday when 70% of the vote was counted.
At that time, school board write-in candidate Will Muldoon surged past Ibn Bailey to claim the third open seat on the school board. As of Friday evening, Aaron Spratt had surpassed Bailey by 260 votes. However, neither earned enough votes to beat back Muldoon and his write-in campaign.
Although election officials have not certified any winners yet, the current crop of numbers points to unofficial winners and settled races.
Results-at-a-glance, as of Friday evening
Mayor
Beth Weldon; 6,840 votes (Weldon ran unopposed)
Write-in: 623 (no write-in candidates were certified)
Extend 3% sales tax
Yes: 6,557
No: 1,782
Assembly District 1
Barbara Blake: 4,710
Paul Kelly: 2,063
Troy Wuyts-Smith: 857
Write-in: 230 (no write-in candidates were certified)
Assembly District 2
Michelle Bonnet Hale: 5,527
Kelly Fishler: 2,431
Write-in: 64 (no write-in candidates were certified)
School Board (Three open seats)
Elizabeth (Ebett) Siddon: 5,767
Amber Frommherz: 5,355
Will Muldoon: 2,909
Aaron Spratt: 1,996
Ibn Bailey: 1,736
Thom Buzard: 1,574
Wiljordon V. Sangster: 1,146
Kyle Scholl: 356
Other, non-certified write-ins: 237
About the count
Juneau’s ballots were counted in Anchorage because Juneau does not have the equipment needed to count votes locally. However, a new ballot counting center is in the works and should be ready for next year’s election.
The canvass review board will convene on Oct. 19 to certify the election results. However, McEwen noted that city rules allow the meeting to be delayed by a day-at-a-time if needed.
In a news release Friday evening, McEwen said that 8,490 ballots had been approved for counting and had been counted. That represents a voter turnout just under 31%.
According to the release, “an additional 339 ballots were received after election day without postmarks.”
In addition, more than 300 ballots are awaiting signature cure letter responses. Cure letters are sent when voters return ballots that lack a signature, personal identifier, or if the signature does not match the one on file with the State of Alaska Division of Elections.
People who have received cure letters, can contact the CBJ Election Call Center at (907)586-5278 option 4 to ensure their ballot is counted, according to the clerk’s office. Voters have until 9 a.m. on Tuesday to contact the CBJ Elections Office to cure their ballots.
• Contact reporter Dana Zigmund at dana.zigmund@juneauempire.com or 907-308-4891.
