State Blames Mail Delivery Issues for Dozens of Ballots From Rural Alaska Not Counting in Primary – WTOP News
State data show 3.4% of absentee ballots were rejected, and officials say rerouting will reduce late deliveries from rural polling sites.
- On Wednesday, the Alaska Division of Elections announced it will reroute absentee in-person ballots from rural western Alaska directly to the Region II Office in Anchorage, bypassing the Nome office to prevent mail delivery delays.
- Officials reported that 75 in-person absentee ballots from rural communities arrived too late to be counted in last month's primary, with the Alaska Division blaming a 'mail delivery delay' affecting seven communities.
- Naknek resident Sallyann Hughes discovered her ballot was rejected after casting it 13 days before the primary. She is seeking a 'documented accounting' of what happened to her vote after it entered election personnel custody.
- Calling the rejection a 'slap in the face,' Michelle Sparck, director of Get Out the Native Vote, supports the rerouting plan. She warned that such failures 'deepen voter apathy and reinforce the systemic perception that our votes do not matter.'
- While turnout in tribally affiliated precincts rose 48.8% over the 2024 primary, the state's 3.4% overall rejection rate for absentee ballots remains a concern. The Alaska Federation of Natives convention in late October will include an early voting push.
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State blames mail delivery issues for dozens of ballots from rural Alaska not counting in primary - Regional Media News
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Seventy-five absentee in-person ballots cast by voters in rural western Alaska communities arrived too late to be counted in last month's primary election, officials said. The Alaska Division of Elections blamed a "mail delivery delay" that affected voters in seven communities, [...]
State blames mail delivery issues for dozens of ballots from rural Alaska not counting in primary – WTOP News
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Seventy-five absentee in-person ballots cast by voters in rural western Alaska communities arrived too late to be counted in last month’s primary election, officials said. The Alaska Division of Elections blamed a “mail delivery delay” that affected voters in seven communities, with Kotzebue, Igiugig and Naknek combining for 62 of the ballots. But a spokesperson did not provide more details on the nature of the delay. Absen…
Winnipeg Free Press
State blames mail delivery issues for dozens of ballots from rural Alaska not counting in primary
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Seventy-five absentee in-person ballots cast by voters in rural western Alaska communities arrived too late to be counted in last month's primary election, officials said.
Alaska Beacon
KPVIMail trouble canceled some Alaska primary votes in Western Alaska
About 1 in 30 absentee ballots cast in Alaska’s August primary election were rejected for procedural errors, according to data published this month by the Alaska Division of Elections. The 3.4% rejection rate for absentee ballots was almost double what it was in the 2024 general election but it was below the record high 4.5% […]
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