Anchorage’s LaFrance-Bronson mayoral runoff election is underway. Here’s what to know. 

A dense instrumentality usability collects 1 of 18 unafraid driblet boxes from nan Anchorage Election Center connected March 7, 2024. The driblet boxes are deployed crossed nan metropolis for section elections. (Allie Hartman/Municipality of Anchorage)

Anchorage’s runoff predetermination to prime nan adjacent politician of Alaska’s biggest metropolis is underway.

Ballots went out Tuesday, April 30, and voters person done May 14 to return them.

The only candidates connected the ballot are incumbent Dave Bronson and erstwhile Anchorage Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance. 

Here’s what to cognize astir this runoff election.

What’s astatine stake? 

A three-year word arsenic politician of Anchorage, who is nan municipal government’s main executive. The politician is directly responsible for picking municipal section heads and different executives, arsenic good arsenic proposing and executing nan city’s yearly budget, each taxable to nan Anchorage Assembly approval. 

For 2024, nan politician indirectly manages much than 2,000 full-time positions, positive astir 300 part-time, seasonal and impermanent ones nether an operating budget of astir $611 million. 

The politician besides picks nan volunteers who service connected dozens of boards and commissions who effect everything from the books connected room shelves to land use to animal power policies. 

Various hyperlocal tax work areas are expected to beryllium governed by officials elected from those jurisdictions, but they often spell vacant owed to a deficiency of candidates. The politician is besides responsible for filling those vacancies. 

The politician besides participates successful meetings of nan Anchorage Assembly, nan 12-member legislative limb of metropolis government. The politician tin veto Assembly measures. 

Where tin I study much astir nan candidates?

Alaska Public Media collaborated pinch nan Anchorage Daily News to build a candidate comparison guide that we’ve updated for nan runoff, check it retired here. We besides hosted a runoff debate with nan 2 candidates. 

Plus, you tin cheque retired our campaigner interviews pinch LaFrance and Bronson from March. 

I registered to ballot recently. Am I eligible to ballot successful nan runoff? 

Under state law and local codes, you must beryllium registered to ballot 30 days earlier an predetermination to beryllium eligible to ballot successful it. For this runoff, that intends nan past time to person registered to beryllium eligible for this predetermination was April 14. 

I didn’t ballot successful nan regular election. Can I ballot successful nan runoff? 

Yes, if you were registered to ballot by April 14. Eligibility to ballot successful nan runoff predetermination doesn’t hinge connected your information successful nan regular election. In fact, elector turnout successful Anchorage’s mayoral runoff elections tends to beryllium higher than successful nan regular elections starring up to them. 

How do I vote? 

If you were registered to ballot by April 14, your ballot package, which has materials barcoded specifically for you, should get successful nan message by May 7 astatine nan reside tied to your elector registration pinch nan state. 

Fill retired the ballot card pinch achromatic aliases bluish ink. Put your filled ballot paper into nan secrecy sleeve, and seal that wrong nan return envelope. You must usage nan ballot return letter cover that came successful nan package.

On nan extracurricular of nan envelope, publication and motion nan declaration. Your ballot isn’t valid without this signature. A brace of predetermination workers trained successful signature verification will yet cheque it against your signature connected record pinch nan state. 

Now your ballot letter cover is fresh to deliver. 

How do I present my ballot envelope? 

There are 3 ways. All must beryllium done by 8 p.m. connected May 14 for your ballot to beryllium valid. 

• Mail it first people done nan U.S. Postal Service. You’ll request to salary for postage. If you’re sending it connected May 14, make judge a postal worker manually postmarks it. 
• Put it successful 1 of nan city’s 18 unafraid driblet boxes, which are disposable crossed nan Anchorage Bowl positive 1 successful Eagle River and 1 successful Girdwood. 
• Take it to 1 of 3 Anchorage Vote Centers during their business hours, which will reopen opening May 7. 

What if I didn’t motion my ballot letter cover aliases my signatures don’t match? 

Election officials must nonstop you a missive wrong a fewer days letting you cognize astir nan problem, and laying retired ways to hole it. One measurement involves mailing backmost a form. The different is to meet pinch an predetermination charismatic successful person. 

New this year, predetermination officials are besides piloting a strategy called TXT2Cure to resoluteness signature problems from a smartphone. It involves sending a matter connection to nan system, completing a questionnaire and submitting a photograph of your ID. 

Acting Election Administrator William Northrop said 230 voters successfully utilized it during nan regular election. 

Problems pinch signatures were nan astir communal logic ballots were rejected successful nan regular election.  

What if my ballot is damaged, I suffer it aliases I ne'er get 1 successful nan mail? 

Election officials mailed retired 207,951 ballot packages to qualified, registered voters connected Tuesday, April 30. 

If you didn’t get 1 aliases request a replacement, you tin call  nan city’s elector hotline astatine 907-243-VOTE (8683). 

Or, you tin ballot successful personification astatine one of nan Anchorage Vote Centers starting May 7. You’ll request identification, for illustration a driver’s license, passport, aliases moreover a hunting aliases sportfishing license. 

Either way, nan barcode that ties nan original ballot return letter cover to you will beryllium invalidated. To dispose of nan damaged ballot aliases if nan mislaid ballot turns up, you should tear it up.

You tin motion up for ballot search astatine AnchorageVotes.com.

Can I ballot successful person? 

Sort of. There aren’t immoderate vicinity polling places. However, you tin still return your ballot package to one of nan 3 Anchorage Vote Centers and capable it retired successful a booth there. These centers will beryllium staffed from May 7 to 14.

The municipality switched from traditional, in-person elections to chiefly vote-by-mail elections in 2018. The Anchorage Assembly made a bid of argumentation decisions starring up to nan move opening successful 2015. 

When will we cognize nan predetermination results?

Election workers won’t statesman counting votes until aft voting closes astatine 8 p.m. connected Election Night, May 14. Election officials scheme to statesman publishing partial, unofficial results on nan city’s website astir 8:30 p.m. that night. 

More eligible ballots to beryllium counted will proceed to get by message aft Election Day. 

For context, done predetermination nighttime successful nan past election, officials had received astir three-quarters of each nan ballots cast. Within 2 days, they had gotten 99% of them. 

The Anchorage Assembly must certify nan results for them to go official. That ballot is tentatively scheduled for a typical Assembly gathering connected May 31. 

Have a mobility astir nan metropolis predetermination that we missed?