Before You Vote
When You Vote
About MOA Elections
Before You Vote
When is the next Regular Municipal Election?
The next Regular Municipal Election is on
Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
Am I eligible to vote?
You are eligible to vote if you meet
all three requirements listed below:
-
Qualified to vote in State of Alaska elections
-
Registered to vote at an address within the Municipality of Anchorage for at least 30 days before Election Day
- 18 years of age or older on Election Day
How do I register to vote or update my registration?
The State of Alaska, Division of Elections manages voter registration. If you are registered with the State at a residence address within the Municipality, you are registered to vote in municipal elections.
Register online or fill out a paper form to mail at: voterregistration.alaska.gov.
For questions, contact the State of Alaska, Division of Elections at
elections.alaska.gov or (907) 522-VOTE (8683). You may register when you file for your PFD.
PFD voter registrations are not immediately transmitted to the Division of Elections, so if you register to vote for the first time with your PFD and want to vote in the April election of the same year, you must also register at
voterregistration.alaska.gov or contact the State Division of Elections at
elections.alaska.gov or (907) 522-VOTE (8683) with questions.
I will be traveling during the election. How can I get my ballot?
If you want to receive your ballot package at a temporary address rather than your regular mailing address, you can
apply to vote at a temporary address and return the application to MOA Elections no later than 5:00 p.m. AKST seven days before Election Day.
The Application to Vote at a Temporary Address will be posted on the Voter Information page around December 1 of each year. Or call the Voter Hotline at 907-243-VOTE (8683) for more information.
I will be at school out of state during the election. Can I vote in the election?
If you want to receive your ballot package at your college address rather than your regular mailing address, you can
apply to vote at a temporary address and return the application to MOA Elections no later than 5:00 p.m. AKST seven days before Election Day.
The Application to Vote at a Temporary Address will be posted on the Voter Information page around December 1 of each year. Or call the Voter Hotline at 907-243-VOTE (8683) for more information.
Can I vote by fax or email?
Yes. You can apply to vote by fax or email.
Call the Voter Hotline at 907-243-VOTE (8683) to request an Application to Vote by Fax or Email. Complete and return the application to MOA Elections by 5:00 p.m. AKST seven days before Election Day.
Instructions are included with the application.
What if I lose my ballot or never receive my ballot package in the mail?
If you lose or do not receive your ballot package in the mail, call the MOA Elections Voter Hotline at 907-243-VOTE (8683) to
request a replacement ballot package as soon as possible. Replacement ballot packages may not be mailed less than seven days before Election Day.
You may also visit an Anchorage Vote Center to vote. Remember to bring a government ID when you vote in person at an Anchorage Vote Center!
What happens if I receive a ballot for someone who doesn't live at the address anymore?
Please mark any ballot packages for people not at your address,
"RETURN TO SENDER!" This is the first step in updating the voter registration list so ballots are not mailed to those voters unless they update their voter registration. Those voters can still vote in person or request a ballot to a temporary address.
You may also tear up these ballot packages, but that will not update the voter list and these voters will continue to be mailed a ballot at that address.
Thanks for helping us update the voter registration list and keep Anchorage elections safe and secure!
When You Vote
How do I vote in this election?
Anchorage votes at home.
Your ballot package will be mailed to you 21 days before Election Day, giving you time to carefully research the candidates and ballot questions with trusted resources, mark the ballot, and return it on or before Election Day.
You have three safe and secure options to return your completed ballot: you may return your ballot to one of 18
secure drop boxes within the municipality, to an
Anchorage Vote Center, or
by mail through the U.S. Postal Service with first-class postage.
How do I mark my ballot?
Mark your ballot using a black or blue pen, completely filling in the oval beside the selection of your choice. Instructions for marking your ballot are shown on the ballot.
What accommodations are available for voters with visual or mobility impairments?
The Anchorage Elections team is proud to offer five ADA-accessible voting devices at Anchorage Vote Centers. The secure touch-screen computers have the built-in accommodations most often used by people with disabilities.
The machines are secure touch-screen computers with built-in accommodations most often used by people with visual and/or mobility impairments. For example, the machine can read a ballot to a person with visual impairments or accommodate sip-and-puff navigation for a person with physical limitations. The system is locked until activated by an election official, who uses two-factor authentication to open the voting session.
Accommodations Provided
Audio Tactile Interface (ATI) – The machine is equipped with an audio tactile interface (ATI), a “game controller” style console with braille markings that enables a voter to listen to an audio version of the ballot, to make selections for each race or question on the ballot, to review all selections and make changes if necessary, and to finalize their ballot privately and independently.
Sip-and-puff – Voters who use "sip and puff" or tactile input switches may plug their own assistive devices into the ATI controller and use them to operate it.
If you or someone you know needs accommodations to vote with independence and privacy, please visit an Anchorage Vote Center and ask an election official to use an accessible voting machine. Learn more.
What if I make a mistake while marking my ballot?
The ballot contains instructions about how to correct mistakes while marking your ballot. If you make a mistake on your ballot,
you can correct it by striking through the oval and the candidate's name or proposition answer that you do not want to vote for and fill in the oval beside the candidate or proposition you do wish to vote for, as shown in the example below.
Why do I need to sign my ballot return envelope?
Your signature is like your fingerprint—it cannot be replicated! That's why we use your signature to verify your ballot.
Two election officials trained by forensic document examiners verify your signature against other signatures on file with the State of Alaska, Division of Elections, including your signatures from previous elections, the DMV, and other government documents.
Learn more about signature verification.
What happens if my signature cannot be verified?
Anchorage Municipal Code 28.70.030D. specifies what MOA Elections is required to do if the signature is missing or if the signature on a ballot return envelope cannot be verified.
First, if after signature verification, a signature is missing or determined to be invalid, Election Officials will send a letter to the voter explaining the lack of a valid signature within three business days. The letter shall be sent to the address to which the ballot was mailed and it shall ask the voter to either:
- Fill out the form included with the letter and return the form to the municipality at the address specified on the form; or
- Come to the location identified in the letter and present valid identification to an election official and sign a form provided by the municipality authenticating the envelope.
If the authentication is still determined to be invalid, the voter shall be notified in writing that their ballot is rejected.
How do I return my ballot?
You have three safe and secure options to return your completed ballot by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day: you may return your ballot to one of 18
secure drop boxes within the municipality, to an
Anchorage Vote Center, or
by mail through the U.S. Postal Service with first-class postage.
You must be in line at a secure drop box or an Anchorage Vote Center by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day. If you are returning your ballot by mail on Election Day, take it to the post office so that it can be hand-canceled by a postal official.
Where is the nearest secure drop box and when is it open?
Here's a map to
find a secure drop box near you, including the addresses and hours.
Secure drop boxes will be open 24 hours, 7 days-a-week beginning approximately 3 weeks before Election Day.
Secure drop boxes will be closed at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Voters in line at a secure drop box by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day will be allowed to drop off their ballots.
Where is the nearest Anchorage Vote Center and when is it open?
Here's a map to
find an Anchorage Vote Center near you, including the addresses and hours, so that you can access services including:
- Return your mail ballot
- Vote in person
- Receive voting assistance
- ons
- Register to vote
- Vote a Questioned Ballot.
Anchorage Vote Centers will close at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Voters in line at an Anchorage Vote Center by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day will be allowed to vote.
What identification do I need to obtain a ballot at an Anchorage Vote Center?
Acceptable forms of identification include:
- a signed voter card
- a State of Alaska driver's license
- a State of Alaska I.D. card
- a military I.D. card
- a passport
- a hunting or fishing license
- other current or valid photo identification
- other identification acceptable in State of Alaska elections.
How do I know my ballot has been returned?
Get text, email, or voicemail updates about the status of your ballot by signing up for BallotTrax at
www.anchoragevotes.com. You can also call the Voter Hotline at 907-243-VOTE (8683). You will need to provide information to confirm your identity if you call the Voter Hotline.
When will I know the results of the election?
The first round of unofficial results will be posted on the MOA Elections website after 8:30 p.m. on Election Night. Official results are posted when the election is certified by the Anchorage Assembly in late April.
When is a recount required?
Anchorage Municipal Code section 28.90.025C. specifies that the Municipal Clerk shall initiate a recount in three circumstances:
- a candidate wins by less than 0.5% margin;
- when a runoff election is required between the top two candidates and the second and third place candidates are separated by less than 0.5%; or
- a proposition or measure passes or fails by less than a 0.5% margin.
About MOA Elections
Why does the Municipality of Anchorage Vote at Home?
In the mid-2010s, the Anchorage Assembly asked the Municipal Clerk's Office to explore ways to increase the number of citizens voting and address other identified elections challenges, including: aging election equipment, retiring election workers, difficulty in finding suitable space, increasing security concerns, and low public engagement and turnout.
At the Assembly's direction, the Clerk's Office formed a Stakeholder Group in 2015. Initially the group was comprised of about a dozen people representing a diverse group of Anchorage citizens, but the group grew to over 50 members representing businesses, non-profits, and others interested in elections. After 15 months of research and public outreach, the Stakeholder Group recommended Vote at Home/Vote by Mail to the Anchorage Assembly as the best way to increase voter participation and save community resources.
On March 8, 2016, the Assembly introduced a change to municipal code to allow voting by mail. A public hearing was held and on March 22, 2016, the Assembly approved the change which established Vote by Mail as the method for Municipal elections. The first Vote by Mail election was held in 2018. (Vote by Mail Final Report, March 2019)
What is the cost of Vote at Home elections compared to poll-based elections?
Vote at Home elections cost more than poll-based elections because of increased ballot printing costs and added postage costs, since all qualified, registered voters are mailed a ballot package. However, there are also cost reductions due to the need for fewer election workers (about 60 instead of 650), less equipment to purchase and maintain, rental of fewer locations (3-6 instead of 122), and thus decreased security requirements.
The actual elections costs for 2014 through 2021 are shown in
this document . Vote at Home elections began in 2018. The 2014 through 2017 costs are for poll-based elections. The average cost for the final four years of poll-based elections was $519,454. The average cost for four Vote at Home elections held between 2018 and 2021 was $647,206.
Does the Municipality of Anchorage use Dominion Voting Systems?
Yes, the Municipality has used Dominion Voting Systems for our general election management and tabulation system since at least 2007.
First, since 2007, the Municipality has never had reason to doubt that the Dominion products purchased by the Municipality are correctly performing to accurately tabulate ballots for municipal elections. The Municipality, like other jurisdictions, has security measures in place to confirm that the voting systems are performing accurately. The Municipal Clerk's Office has conducted one hand count and several recounts since 2007: in 2012 (recount of 15 precincts), 2013 (Ernie Hall/Nick Moe hand count), 2016 (recount of Prop 9 - Girdwood police), 2020 (recount of Prop 1 – Life Safety Access Roads), and 2021 (recounts of two school board races) - none of which changed the outcome of these races or propositions.
Second, the Municipality and the State of Alaska, Division of Elections use the same Dominion tabulation system. On Wednesday, November 18, 2020, Alaska Lt. Governor Kevin Meyer stated that, “we have not seen anything that looks like fraud or looks weird or looks like an irregularity" regarding the state's November 3, 2020 general election. The MOA Elections Team considers itself a partner with the State of Alaska, Division of Elections; State Division of Elections staff participated on the MOA's RFP review team prior to the MOA's upgrade of the system in 2017.
Third, voters in the Municipality who have visual or physical impairments may vote independently and privately using accessible voting machines at Anchorage Vote Centers. The Anchorage Election team selected Dominion ImageCastX devices to provide accessible voting, and because of the noted vulnerabilities of a previous version of the platform, the Elections team conducted a thorough review of the findings of the CISA Customer Advisory before making the selection. It was determined that the issues found with the previous version of the system do not pertain to the device's implementation in Anchorage because they will not be connected to the Internet and will not be used to transmit votes – they will only be used for voters who wish to use the device for assistance transferring their votes to a paper ballot. The machines are secure touch-screen computers with built-in accommodations most often used by people with visual and/or mobility impairments. For example, the machine can read a ballot to a person with visual impairments or accommodate sip-and-puff navigation for a person with physical limitations. The system is locked until activated by an election official, who uses two-factor authentication to open the voting session. Learn More.
Finally, the MOA's Office of Information Technology (OIT) and MOA Elections participate in “EI-ISAC" (Elections Infrastructure – Information Sharing and Analysis Center) which provides confidential and classified alerts and training to OIT and MOA elections staff on election security. The Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council Executive Committee, comprised of the assistant director of Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the chair of the US Election Assistance Commission, the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, the president of the National Association of State Election Directors, and the Escambia County (Florida) supervisor of elections, along with the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Council, issued a statement after the November 2020 general election and found that “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised." (https://www.cisa.gov/news/2020/11/12/joint-statement-elections-infrastructure-government-coordinating-council-election.) There is additional information about election security on the CISA website at https://www.cisa.gov/rumorcontrol, and Dominion comments at https://www.dominionvoting.com/.