Ballots will soon be mailed out for the upcoming special election to fill Alaska's lone seat in Congress, left by the late Rep. Don Young.
And state officials are now asking residents to make sure their voter information is in order ahead of the June 11 primary. The cutoff to register for that election is May 12.
“Voters who are registered to vote will automatically be sent a ballot from the state," said Alaska Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai. "So there is no need for voters to send in a by-mail application to apply for a ballot.”
The June election is a primary. All candidates vying for the open seat will appear on the ballot and voters will pick just one candidate each.
The top four candidates from the primary will then head to a special general election in August, which will be a ranked choice race.
Fenumiai said the division decided to do the special election exclusively by mail to keep on schedule.
“And due to the time constraints that are in state law to conduct a special primary election — you have 90 days from the date of vacancy to conduct an election — there just is not adequate time to recruit over 2,000 poll workers and get them trained and get our materials out and back in time," she said.
She said it’s important for voters to make sure their mailing addresses are updated and accurate before the division sends out ballots. And she said by-mail ballots each require a witness and envelope signature. Return postage is paid for all ballots.
You can check on your voter information, including your registered address, at myvoterinformation.alaska.gov. Candidates for the seat, meanwhile, have until Friday to register.
