Voting in statewide primary off to slow start

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Voting in the statewide primary got off to a slow start Tuesday with election workers in Anchorage describing the morning and afternoon turnout as “very slow.”

The State Division of Elections, which does not track voter turnout throughout election day, reported a total of 20,129 people statewide that had already voted by Sunday. Those came through early voting, absentee voting, questioned ballots, and other means. That figure was down from recent primaries.

Region II Election Supervisor Jeff Congdon speculated that people might be staying home since the majority of candidates on the primary ballot will appear on the general election ballot with the state’s ranked-choice voting system in November.

One exception is the race for Alaska’s lone congressional seat, which will whittle down candidates from 12 to four after Tuesday’s primary. Some voters have voiced concerns that two Republican frontrunners Nick Begich and Nancy Dahlstrom might split the Republican vote if both remain on the ballot.

Dinah Martin, who voted at Dimond High School Tuesday, said that race was what brought her out to vote.

“With all the controversy with the representative and everything, I wanted to be here,” Martin said.

When asked about glitches, Congdon said election officials in both Anchorage and Juneau had heard from some voters who were confused they hadn’t received a ballot in the mail.

While both cities have vote-by-mail for local elections, residents must request a ballot be mailed to them for state elections.

There were also two Anchorage polling places that were forced to scramble to welcome voters when the polls opened at 7 a.m.

At Ocean View Elementary, a school district employee arrived later than expected to open the building. Workers say they were prepared to have people vote in the parking lot when the worker showed up in the nick of time and people were able to vote inside.

At Taku Elementary, the Precinct Chair had car issues, according to officials. He was also charged with delivering the ballots and voting machines to the school.

The Precinct Chair said he got the school open for voting by 7:15 a.m. but one man who was there when he arrived refused to wait. Congdon said the poll worker acted appropriately in giving the man the option of waiting a few minutes, voting in a different location, or coming back later.

Anchorage election officials didn’t report any other issues as of late Tuesday afternoon. State officials said flooding in Western Alaska might be impacting some of the voting that is taking place there.

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