Tomorrow is election day, and many Sitkans have already cast their ballots. In this election, voters around the state will choose Alaska’s next governor, as well as their state and national representatives, and vote on a ballot measure that would repeal Alaska’s open primary and ranked choice voting systems.
Wilma Stokes-Leslie is a local election official. She said there was a steady turnout of early voters at Harrigan Centennial Hall, with about 150 Sitkans casting their ballots, on average, each day. Today saw an exceptionally large turnout, with 271 Sitkans voting early.
“We had 40 people in the first half hour, and they were waiting outside the door at 10 o’clock,” Stokes-Leslie said.
As for the voting process, Stokes-Leslie said each voter registered to vote absentee, then filled out a ballot and put it in a security sleeve to place in a locked ballot box.
“Then at the end of the day, all the doors are locked, and the workers take the ballots out and they count them out, and they check on the register and they’re put into a special envelope and they’re mailed to Juneau,” she said.
In all, 1,627 Sitkans had voted early in the election, according to Stokes-Leslie. That’s about a fifth of registered voters in Sitka, according to the Alaska Division of Elections. Stokes-Leslie said there were a few reasons for the early turnout.
“We’ve been all over the national news, so I think that’s been an incentive,” Stokes-Leslie said. “Also, there’s a lot of folks that are working. Some people mentioned they’re heading out fishing, or they’re going out of town for whatever reason, vacation.”
Early votes cast in Sitka will be tallied in Juneau at the Region I Elections Office on election night.
If you didn’t get a chance to vote early, polls are open for Alaska’s general election Nov. 3 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
