Runoff election for Anchorage mayor underway Tuesday
How to vote, what to expect, and how to get results from the runoff race for Anchorage mayor
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The runoff election between mayoral candidate Suzanne LaFrance and incumbent Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson took place Tuesday, May 14.
“Getting out the vote and turnout is so important in this race and we worked hard to reach as many voters as we can and we’re still working today to reach them,” candidate Suzanne LaFrance said at a sign waving event Tuesday morning at West Benson Boulevard and Minnesota Drive.
Bronson and his supporters could be seen sign waving on Northern Lights Boulevard and Old Seward Highway earlier in the day.
“We have such a great team and we run a positive campaign,” LaFrance said. “We’ve been very focused on getting our message out and we’re still working to reach as many voters as we can.”
How to Vote
Ballots were mailed out by the municipality’s Department of Elections on April 30. Those ballots can be returned by mail or in person at an Anchorage Vote Center. All ballots must be returned or postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Three Anchorage Vote Centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day for those who need assistance voting, need to replace a lost or damaged ballot, would like to vote on their mailed ballot, or didn’t receive a ballot.
Secure drop boxes are available at 18 locations in the municipality for voters to return their ballots before 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Voters can track ballots once cast at anchoragevotes.com and see when their ballot is processed. This also allows election officials to reach out and address any concerns if they arise.
Turnout
Turnout in the municipal general election was just over 30% of registered voters with 72,250 ballots cast. Suzanne LaFrance received 25,904 votes, or 36.23% of ballots cast. Mayor Dave Bronson received 25,431 votes — 35.57% of ballots cast and just 473 fewer votes than LaFrance.
This time around election officials are predicting turnout will be higher than the general election. By Tuesday morning, municipal election workers had received and processed a total of 54,530 ballots — which included ballots cast Monday and very early Tuesday morning. Officials expect a surge in voting throughout the day with Vote Centers reporting steady flows through the noon hour.
This will be the second runoff election Bronson has been a candidate in, having faced now-Senator Forrest Dunbar in 2021′s mayoral race. Bronson secured 50.66% of votes in the runoff election against Dunbar’s 49.34%, winning by just 1,193 votes.
Issues
Election officials say there have been no major issues with the runoff election, however they are still receiving ballots with signatures that don’t match the signatures they have on file.
On Election Day, the number of ballots pulled because of signature issues was 628. Officials say people whose ballots are affected have been sent cure letters with several ways to fix the situation. Voters have until 4:00 p.m. on May 29 to make the changes, but officials urge people to do it as soon as possible to insure their vote will count.
Results
The Alaska’s News Source Team will bring you the latest numbers when the Anchorage Department of Elections releases initial unofficial results around 8:30 p.m. on Election Day.
Initial results released on Election day have Bronson receiving 22,997 votes, or 45.12%, while LaFrance leads with 27,970 for 54.88% of the vote.
Daily updates will be released by the department by 6:30 p.m. on days when new information is available.
Election Officials say they expect preliminary results to include ballots cast though Monday but it’s likely ballots cast on Election Day itself will be processed and tabulated through out the week.
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