Alaska’s primary elections, less than three weeks away, are slated for Aug. 20. They are the first major elections to be overseen by the Division of Elections’ new director, Carol Beecher.
Absentee by-mail ballots were sent out beginning last Friday, according to the Division of Elections’ operations manager, Michaela Thompson. However, voters can still apply for one until Aug. 10. Ballots for international voters and soldiers overseas were sent out in early July, Thompson said.
Early or absentee in-person and special needs voting begins next Monday, Aug. 5. Voters can use this form from the Division of Elections to find polling locations by city and district, or use this map to search for polling locations based on an address.
Not all ballots will be counted on election night, though enough should be counted to know the unofficial outcomes of many races. On election night, ballots voted at polling places will be included in the count, according to the division. Ballots voted at early voting locations between Aug. 5 and Aug. 20 will also be included, as will some absentee ballots.
All absentee, early, and questioned ballots will be counted by Aug. 30, according to the division. Sept. 1 is the target date for the State Review Board to certify the election results.
In the 2020 general election, Alaskan voters chose to implement an open primary system, which is open to all candidates and voters.
Under this system, voters can cast a ballot for any one candidate – regardless of party or political affiliation. The top four vote-getting candidates move on to the general election. Before this system was implemented, political parties controlled who was allowed to vote in primaries, and only one candidate per party could advance to the general election ballot.
Recently, some Republicans have pledged to withdraw if they don’t receive the most votes in the open primary. For some supporters, these pledges are a way of restoring some aspects of the previous primary system – if the other candidates withdraw, only the top vote-getting Republican would progress to the general election.
Many of the primary elections have four or fewer candidates running for office. Under the open primary system, this means that all of the candidates in these races will progress to the general election.
However, three elections currently have more than four candidates in the running, meaning that not every candidate in these races will be on the ballot in November.
One of these elections is the U.S. House seat, with 12 candidates, including Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola, Republican Nick Begich III, and Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom. So far, Peltola has raised more money than her Republican opponents amid television ads targeting her from a national Republican group.
Senate District L, in Eagle River, has five candidates competing in the primary election, while House District 36 in Interior Alaska has six candidates.
In a 2013 lawsuit, since renamed Toyukak v. Dahlstrom, Alaska Native tribes and voters successfully brought suit against the Division of Elections and lieutenant governor to enforce the language assistance outlined by the federal Voting Rights Act. In 2023, the settlement agreement was extended to 2026. As a result, the Division of Elections currently provides language assistance for six Yup’ik dialects, Nunivak Cup’ig, Northern Iñupiaq, Aleut and Filipino.
Spanish language assistance has been available for voters in certain communities along the Aleutian chain since 2012, but will not be offered this year, since the percent of the population needing the services fell below federal guidelines. Spanish language translation services will be available by telephone.
In June, a U.S. Justice Department investigation found that Alaska violated federal law by failing to provide adequate accommodations to voters with disabilities in some 2022 and 2023 elections. In response, a division official said the division tries to make continuing improvements to help voters and was considering the points raised by federal officials.
Beecher is a longtime state employee and registered Republican who was appointed by Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom in 2023.
Earlier this summer, the Beacon staff asked every U.S. House and legislative candidate their position on issues that were identified using input from readers. The Beacon’s 2024 Voter Guide, including the response to those questions, can be found here.
• This article originally appeared online at alaskabeacon.com. Alaska Beacon, an affiliate of States Newsroom, is an independent, nonpartisan news organization focused on connecting Alaskans to their state government.
