Alaskans need 84 cents of postage on by-mail ballots, and other how-to-vote tips

Oct. 18—Absentee ballot count

Alaskans voting by mail will need to put 84 cents worth of postage on their ballot envelopes to send them back by post to the Division of Elections.

One forever stamp is currently worth 60 cents, meaning a second stamp would be needed to mail absentee ballots. Voters are required to use the correct amount of postage when mailing a ballot, but the United States Postal Service has a policy to still deliver ballots even if postage is unpaid or if there is insufficient postage.

For Alaska's overseas and military voters, it's a different story. Postage is already covered by the federal government and those voters just need to carefully follow the instructions on how to vote in Alaska's second ranked-choice election before putting their ballots inside the envelopes provided.

Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai said that the postage costs were determined after Anchorage postal workers weighed the ballots and found they were between 1.1 and 1.2 ounces. The cost to mail a stamped letter weighing between one and two ounces is 84 cents.

"Realizing that scales may vary, the division felt it was best to go with the higher number in the instructions," Feniumiai said.

[Resources for voters in Alaska's 2022 general election, including candidate Q&As, key dates and more information]

The two-stamps requirement for Alaska by-mail voters sparked frustration and confusion online over the weekend as absentee ballots started to be delivered across the state. The ballot envelope stated that first class postage is required, but not how much.

The vote-by-mail instructions inside the envelope said that 84 cents of postage is required, but it was in the fifth paragraph and was not highlighted like other important absentee voting instructions. Those reminders included that:

—Alaska voters need to have their absentee ballots postmarked on or before Election Day Nov. 8 to be counted and they need be received by the division within 10 days of the election. The division recommends voters return their ballots as soon as possible, and to get them hand stamped by a postal worker.

—Alaskans can also drop off their by-mail ballots in person at five regional Division of Elections offices in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Nome, and Wasilla.

—Starting Oct. 24, absentee ballots can be dropped off in person at dozens of locations across Alaska, which are available on the Division of Elections website. They also can also be cast at in-person voting locations on Election Day.

—Voters need to sign their ballots, and put one identifier on the ballot envelope such as a social security number or birth date. A witness over the age of 18 must watch the voter sign the ballot envelope and then sign it themselves.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 19 states and the District of Columbia pay for postage for by-mail ballots. Alaska is not one of them.

The state of Alaska paid for postage for June's unprecedented by-mail special congressional primary election to fill the remainder of the late Rep. Don Young's term. That had not occurred for other elections in recent cycles, Fenumiai said.

"In order to be able to pay for postage, there would need to be adequate funding appropriated," she said about the general election by-mail ballots.

James Boxrud, a regional spokesperson for the postal service, said the USPS is working proactively with state and local election officials on ballot mailing requirements, including postage payment. States are required to tell voters the amount of postage required to mail ballots, if that is applicable, he said.

"In cases where a ballot enters the mailstream without the proper amount of postage, the Postal Service will deliver the ballot and thereafter attempt to collect postage from the appropriate Board of Elections," he said.

When asked if the division will count by-mail ballots with insufficient postage, Fenumiai confirmed it would. But with the proviso that ballots must arrive into the division on time and fulfil all the statutory requirements to be counted, such as the witness signature.

Absentee voting tips

Ballots were automatically sent by mail to all registered voters for the special congressional primary election in June. Voters who want to cast an absentee ballot for the Nov. 8 general election need to request one, which can be done in Alaska for any reason.

Absentee ballot applications can be filled out and submitted online. They can also be printed and returned to the division in person, by fax or by mail. The deadline to register for an absentee ballot is Oct. 29.

In 2020, a record number of Alaskans voted by mail as COVID-19 cases soared. Voters were able to put their ballots in dropboxes in Southcentral Alaska, Fairbanks and Juneau, but they won't be available this year.

Fenumiai said the state of Alaska does not own any dropboxes and that the ones used two years ago were from the Municipality of Anchorage. She reiterated the dozens of absentee in-person voting locations opening next Monday in communities across Alaska.

In a first this year, Alaskans can track their by-mail ballot online using BallotTrax to see when it is received by the division. But any errors with those ballots cannot be corrected once they are sent in, which is a process commonly referred to as "ballot curing."

Thousands of by-mail ballots were rejected for June's special U.S. House primary, with a disproportionate number from Western Alaska. Two-thirds of those rejected ballots were for mistakes made on the envelopes containing the ballots, such as forgetting to get a witness to sign it.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska and two other civil rights law firms sued over the lack of a ballot curing process, but that case is not expected to be resolved before Election Day. The division is encouraging Alaskans to read the instructions very carefully on by-mail ballots.

The division has instructions online for special needs voting for Alaskans who can't visit a polling place themselves due to age, illness or disability.

Ranked choice voting tips

Alaskans will use ranked choice voting in November for the second time after Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola won the special congressional election in August.

There were few issues reported with the new system, but the division launched a major voter education campaign to ensure Alaska understand the state's new voting process, including not voting for the same candidate twice or skipping a ranking.

If no candidate gets more than half the first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated and their votes are redistributed to the other candidates based on their supporters' second-choice votes. That process is repeated until one candidate has a clear majority.

Early voting and results

Early voting begins next Monday with polling places set to open in Anchorage, Palmer, Wasilla, Eagle River, Fairbanks, Soldotna, Homer, Juneau and Nome. Hours of operation and locations are available at the division's website.

Voters will need to bring ID — a voter card, driver's license, or other document that lists their name and address.

Polls will open on Election Day Nov. 8 at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Voters' first choices will be tabulated and announced that night, but the division decided to only do the ranked-choice tabulation process once it had received all absentee ballots, which can arrive at the division from overseas 15 days after the election.

The division used that delayed tabulation process for August's special congressional election and it will use it again for the general election. Meaning, Alaskans will need to wait until Nov. 23 for the tabulation process to be completed, more than two weeks after Election Day, to get definitive results from the Nov. 8 election.