Juneau residents flocked to voting centers as well as drop boxes along with post offices Tuesday night to cast their votes in the municipal election this year.
The public may not be aware of the results for up to two weeks. The initial results are expected by 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night, however those results will only reflect ballots submitted or left at the polling place prior to Election Day.
In the days leading up to their ballot count in the coming days to begin, officials from the election are looking forward to a high turnout of voters.
City hall bond splits the voters
The Mendenhall Valley Public Library Election workers put up booths while voters poured in. Some of them were voting in person. Others exchanged their completed ballots with “I have voted” stickers.
Five incumbents were unopposed to reelection for the Juneau Assembly and school board. This year, 14 candidates run for 4 Assembly seats, while three candidates run for 2 seats on the school board.
A voter Sylvia Madaras said she hasn’t seen this many candidates at an election like a Juneau municipal vote before.
“I considered it an indication that civic involvement was at a high level,” Madaras said.
She is a member of the Juneau Career Firefighters union, who endorsed incumbents Alicia Hough-Skandijs as well Christine Woll and areawide candidates Ella Atkinson and Laura Martinson McDonnell.
Madaras stated that she didn’t adhere to the endorsements in full. She was a bit confused about the city hall proposal as well.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I believe in the benefits of a long-term financial investment of building a house that’s not deteriorating,” she said. “Also I know that there’s not a lot of cash at the moment. Everybody’s asking for money and we’ve got lots of projects we’re developing .”
At the downtown voting site, voters like Catherine Wilkins said they supported the bond.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I am strongly in support of the city’s new building,” Wilkins said. “Even although I’m not sure that it will pass I wanted to make sure that I registered my vote for it. .”
Kara Johnson voted against the bond. She acknowledged that Juneau’s municipal buildings are in need of renovation however she was dissatisfied with the way that Juneau approached it. The city’s last $35 million bond for the hall was rejected.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”They were knocked down once, and they then did a 180-degree turn to say, “We’re going to give it back to the voters in the next election,'” Johnson said. “I’d prefer to see some change in their financial plan .”
Bill Oatman stopped by the library to pick up his ballot. He had voted on his ballot on Tuesday morning and was delighted to see the names of new voters.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I do not consider politics an occupation,” he said. “So I’m interested in seeing new people join the ranks. .”
Alyson Campbell announced that she was a vote-getter in favor of Martinson McDonnell, who runs the downtown gift shop.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I would like to see more small-business owners to join the Assembly to make sure that people are aware of the pressure,” Campbell said. “I believe right now that the Assembly is totally disconnected from the needs of small business owners.” .”
deputy municipal clerk Andi Hirsch has said that the presence of so many candidates is better than having a single candidate in the election.
It’s a great idea to have a style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I I love it when there’s contests in races or when all races are disputable,” she said. “I believe that it helps to increase conversation and turnout because democracy works best when people have options. .”
Hirsch stated that so far, voter turnout has been roughly the same as the previous year and was one of the states’ first ever general election that was ranked.. The year before, Juneau election officials counted 9,137 ballots. Nearly 28,000 voters legally registered voters in Juneau.
Ten areawide candidates attempt to make a statement
Some candidates were seen on Tuesday morning waving banners along Egan Drive by the Juneau-Douglas Bridge.
Paul Kelly is one of 10 people who are vying for two Assembly seats.. Kelly was a member of the Juneau school board from the year 2018 to 2021. He also was a candidate for District 1 Assembly seat in 2021. Kelly said that this year people were clamoring to hear about issues like city hall as well as homelessness, tourism and many other issues.
It’s a style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I believe there was more participation,” he said. “There were more people that could be a part of, and more people would like to hear what I had to say. .”
At the same intersection Adkison greeted drivers. She also said that the numerous events held this year have helped candidates develop friendships with each other.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Because there are two seats available, it’s been a pleasure getting to know the candidates, as should I win, I’ll be able be serving with the other,” Adkison said. “In the sense that this makes the race more difficult however I’m thrilled to see the community stepping in and ready to serve. .”
In the opposite direction, Martinson McDonnell said she is hoping that this level of engagement persists after the elections. The voters spoke with her about the cost of property taxes and the price to live in Juneau. Others raised issues such as public safety, and graveyards that lie on Douglas.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I’ve discovered lots of things I didn’t even know were going on in the minds of people,” she told me. “There’s several really great aspects of the election season among them, is the fact that everyone has the opportunity to speak. Priorities for the community start to come and are brought to light in a new way.”
Dorene Lorenz waved signs during the Mendenhall Wetlands turnout off of Egan Drive. She said that she felt great about her campaign, and she’s optimistic about a high voter turnout.
It’s a style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Regardless of the party you’re voting for, go to the polls today and cast your vote,” she said. “I’ve visited other nations where there aren’t the option of voting. .”
The incumbents of District 1 and 2 are hoping to run for the chance to run for reelection
Hughes-Skandijs as well as Woll have a chance to run for office and are facing the same opponent. Hughes-Skandijs is competing to beat Joe Geldhof, and Woll is competing for reelection against David Morris.
Hughes-Skandijs has served on the Assembly since the beginning of 2019. She was on Tuesday when she carried her campaign’s logo in one hand, and her campaign sign with the second. She claimed that voters informed her the sheer number of candidates in the race encouraged them to conduct their homework.
“span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”There’s been lots of people taking the step-by-step approach of’I’ll have to go back and look at the forum”” Hughes-Skandijs told. “My greatest hope for today is that the turnout is adequate .”
Woll admitted that this election felt different from her previous one due to a variety of reasons. The first reason is that the previous elections were in the year 2020 and she was unable to go door knocking and events in person she had to do this year.
Another distinction was the frequency with which cruise ship tourism was mentioned during her discussions with voters.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Everyone would like to discuss about cruise vessels,” Woll said. “I was astonished by how often everyone across the political spectrum were eager to discuss ways to better manage tourism .”
She also said that the her new Assembly members should meet with the city’s staff and community members as they can on a variety of topics.
” style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”You’re not likely to have another chance to say”Hey, I’m a newbie and I’m not sure the whole story and you need to tell me everything you think about,'” she said. “I have had a couple of these conversations when I began in the field, and they were useful .”
A few candidates had plans to go back to the intersection later in the afternoon.
Election officials will begin scanning ballots following the end of voting after 8 p.m. They’re expected to release preliminary results at the 10 p.m. and update results several times until they’re officially certified on October. 17.
The KTOO’s Anna Canny and Yvonne Krumrey reported for the show.
