Tag: municipal election

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Early Juneau election results show support for tax cuts, tight race for assembly seat

The interior of the borough’s ballot processing center.

NOTN- Juneau voters appear poised to approve two cost-cutting tax measures while rejecting the third that would have shifted more of the city’s tax burden onto tourists, according to preliminary results from Tuesday’s municipal election.

Early results show Proposition 2 , which would exempt food and residential utilities from city sales tax, passing by a wide margin, with roughly 70% of voters in favor.

Proposition 1, which would reduce the city’s mill rate cap from 12 to 9 mills, is also leading narrowly with 3,104 yes votes to 2,920 no’s. Proposition 3, a proposed seasonal sales tax that would have raised summer rates while lowering winter ones, is trailing with 2,534 no votes to 2,514 yes.

Both Propositions 1 and 2 were placed on the ballot through signature drives by the Affordable Juneau Coalition.

City officials have warned that the two propositions could reduce annual revenue by as much as $10 million to $12 million, potentially forcing budget cuts or limits on the city’s ability to respond to emergencies.

The seasonal sales tax proposal, which the Assembly placed on the ballot, was intended to offset those losses by collecting more from visitors during the summer tourism season.

In the Assembly races, Greg Smith secured the District 1 seat with 4,092 votes, while Ella Adkison ran unopposed for the areawide seat.

The tightest contest came in District 2, where Nathaniel “Nano” Brooks led incumbent Wade Bryson by just three votes, 2,743 to 2,740.

Steve Whitney leads in the race for the Board of Education with 3,197 votes, followed by Melissa Cullum with 2,428, Jeremy “JJJ” Johnson with 2,366, and Jenny Thomas with 2,302. Board President Deedie Sorensen, received 1,317 votes.

A total of 6,073 ballots were tallied as of late Tuesday night about 21.7% of the 28,017 mailed to registered voters.

The City and Borough of Juneau said additional ballots cast at vote centers, drop boxes, or mailed by Election Day are still being processed.

Updated unofficial results are expected Friday, Oct. 10. The election is scheduled to be certified Oct. 21.

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CBJ Clerk: Election integrity is taken seriously by the borough

By: Greg Knight, News of the North

City & Borough of Juneau Municipal Clerk Breckan Hendricks at the borough’s ballot processing center near Thane Road. (Photos by Greg Knight/News of the North)
 

Before and after the polls closed at eight o’clock Tuesday night, city officials worked to ensure the ballot count was accurate and complied with election integrity regulations put in place by the CBJ.

Ballots from Juneau’s five drop boxes and two vote centers were securely delivered to the city’s Ballot Processing Center on Thane Road. That center has been in operation since 2022.

Once ballots were inside, teams of two verified voter signatures, separated secrecy sleeves, and fed the ballots into high-speed scanners, all under strict chain-of-custody rules. Each envelope and unique barcodes were cross-checked to prevent double counting.

CBJ Municipal Clerk Breckan Hendricks says that election integrity is taken seriously by the borough.

“We need to make sure that we’re transparent, that everybody has faith in our system,” Hendricks said. “A lot of people don’t understand it. We have our election rules and procedures online now, on our juneau.org elections page, and we’re trying to get more PSAs out there, trying to make people hopefully understand the process a little better to give them more faith in our system. I know that there’s a lot of hesitancy with by-mail ballots, and we really are following all the rules and regulations to make sure that there’s no gaps.”

The interior of the borough’s ballot processing center.

One thing to note is that mailed ballots postmarked on Tuesday and those needing signature fixes can be counted through October 21.

In the end, Hendricks told News of the North that patience is key, and that accuracy comes before speed in Juneau’s current vote-by-mail system.

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Juneau voters to decide Assembly, School Board races and three ballot propositions Tomorrow

A voter in Alaska's special U.S. House primary election drops their ballot into a box on Saturday, June 11, 2022 as a poll worker observes. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
(Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

NOTN- Juneau voters are wrapping up CBJ’s municipal election that will decide three Assembly seats, three School Board positions, and a trio of ballot propositions.

Ballots were mailed to all registered voters on Sept. 19 and must be returned by 8 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 7.

Ballots can be dropped in one of five secure drop boxes across Juneau, including City Hall, Douglas Library, Mendenhall Valley Public Library, Alaska Electric Light & Power, and Statter Harbor, or mailed with an Oct. 7 postmark. Voters may also cast ballots in person at City Hall or the Mendenhall Valley Library, both of which will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Three Assembly seats are on the ballot this year are, Areawide Assembly, Ella Adkison, District 1, Greg Smith, District 2, Wade Bryson and Nathaniel “Nano” Brooks.

The Board of Education race includes Steve Whitney, Melissa Cullum, Jenny Thomas, Jeremy “JJJ” Johnson, and Deedie Sorensen.

Voters will also weigh in on three propositions.

Proposition 1 asks whether to amend the city charter to lower the property tax cap from 12 mills to 9 mills, according to a voter Q&A posted to CBJ’s website, Proposition 1 would not change the FY26 mill rate, however, assuming no changes to values or budgets for the FY27 budget process, the City and Borough would plan for a revenue reduction of $1,050,716 based on reducing the mill rate to 9.0 mills.

Proposition 2 would exempt groceries and residential utilities from local sales tax, potentially reducing tax collections by an estimated $9–11 million per year.

Proposition 3 would create a seasonal sales tax, setting rates at 3% in the winter and 7.5% in the summer , repealing the existing 5% sales tax.

If both Propositions 2 and 3 pass, city officials estimate the overall impact on revenue would be minimal, with residents paying roughly $300 less per year on average in sales tax.

Voters who have not received a ballot or who require accessible voting assistance can vote in person at City Hall or the Mendenhall Valley Library. Ballots sent by mail must be postmarked by Oct. 7 and received by Oct. 20. Final certified results are scheduled for release Oct. 21.

Full candidate profiles, sample ballots, and proposition details are available at CBJ’s website.

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Juneau’s election period officially begins as ballots are mailed to voters

An early voting station is set up in the atrium of the State Office Building in Juneau, Alaska on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, the first day of early voting for the 2024 Alaska primary election. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
(Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

NOTN- Ballots for the 2025 City and Borough of Juneau municipal election are being mailed today to all registered voters, marking the official start of the election period that runs through Oct. 7.

Voters can return their ballots by mail, deposit them in one of five secure drop boxes located around Juneau, or vote in person at City Hall or the Mendenhall Valley Public Library.

Drop boxes open today and will remain available 24 hours a day until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

This year’s ballot includes races for three Assembly seats, an areawide member, and representatives from Districts 1 and 2 , along with three Board of Education positions.

Ballots must be postmarked by Oct. 7 to be counted.

Official results are scheduled to be certified and published Oct. 21, following the review of ballots.

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Ranked Choice voting ordinance advances to November hearing

An early voting station is set up in the atrium of the State Office Building in Juneau, Alaska on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, the first day of early voting for the 2024 Alaska primary election. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
An early voting station is set up in the atrium of the State Office Building in Juneau, Alaska on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, the first day of early voting for the 2024 Alaska primary election. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

NOTN- Juneau’s proposal to adopt ranked choice voting in municipal elections is headed for another public hearing in November.

Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said the Assembly held its first hearing on the measure last night and advanced it to the Nov. 3 meeting.

“We had our first public hearing on it last night.” Said Barr, “an information release went out yesterday as well to help people understand how it would work in local elections.”

Under the proposal, voters could rank candidates in single-seat races, like for mayor or assembly. If no one wins a majority outright, the lowest-ranked candidates are eliminated and ballots are redistributed until one candidate secures over 50 percent.

The change would not apply to multimember races, like the school board, which would stay under the current system.

Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon said testimony so far has been split for and against the proposal.

“We had four people, two for it and two against it.” Said Weldon,”We’re keeping that on our radar.”

The city is weighing potential benefits and considerations, saying ranked- choice voting could add more consistency for voters and may increase the number of people willing to run for office, however they also note transitioning to a new election process could be difficult on voters and election staff, and counting could be more complex than the current voting system.

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