Voting in
Alaska

Upcoming Election Dates & Deadlines

Upcoming Election: Primary Election

Election Day: October 3, 2023

Registration Deadline: September 1, 2024

Vote By Mail: yes

Vote By Mail Deadline: September 1, 2024

Early Voting: October 21 - 5, 2024

How to vote in Alaska

Alaska's election schedule

Alaska's Election Overview

In Alaska, you have a few options. Registering to vote can be done online, by mail, or in person. Voting itself can be done in person, by mail, or even electronically if you qualify. For mail-in voting, you don’t need to worry about providing an ID.

Important Voting Links for Alaska

How to vote in Alaska

Absentee Ballot Process

(alaska) Absentee voting is available and no excuse is required. The last day to request an absentee ballot is 10 days before the election. You can return your absentee ballot request form through mail, in person at your local elections office, or online (if you have a valid Alaska driver’s license or state ID card). Voted ballots must be postmarked by Election Day in order to be counted. You can sign up to track your absentee ballot on your Division of Elections website. Those who requested an absentee ballot but end up voting in person may be able to. Do not mail a ballot and vote in person. Voters should destroy and dispose of their absentee ballot if they end up voting in-person. Voters should contact the Alaska Absentee and Petition Office to determine their options. Find their contact information here. If you are unable to vote in Alaska on Election Day, you can vote absentee:

In person (available 15 days before an election)
By mail (deadline for applying is 10 days before an election)
By fax (available 15 days before an election)
Online (available 15 days before an election)
By personal representative (available 15 days before an election)

Absentee ballot applications are available anytime for each calendar year. The application deadline is 10 days before the election. You can request a ballot for a one election or for all elections in the year. Apply early to receive your ballot in time. Regular absentee ballots are mailed about one to two weeks before an election. If your absentee ballot is to be sent to a remote area of Alaska, you may request a special advance ballot on this site. A special advance ballot will be mailed 45 days before the election. Your voted ballot must be witnessed and signed in order to be accepted. Absentee Voting by fax should be your last alternative to casting your ballot. By using this method to return your voted ballot, you need to be aware that you are voluntarily waiving your right to a secret ballot. You must apply separately for each election. You must submit your request no later than 5:00 pm the day before Election Day. If you are returning your ballot by fax, it must be voted, witnessed and received by the appropriate fax in the absentee voting office by 8:00 pm on Election Day. If you are a qualified voter who is disabled, you may apply for an absentee ballot through a personal representative who can bring the ballot to you. A personal representative can be anyone over 18, except a candidate for office in the election, your employer, an agent of your employer, or an officer or agent of your union. Ballots are available 15 days before the primary, general or statewide special election at any regional elections office. The personal representative brings the completed application to an election official for a ballot and takes the ballot to you. You complete a certificate authorizing the personal representative to carry your ballot, vote the ballot privately, place it in a secrecy sleeve and seal it inside the envelope provided. The personal representative brings the voted ballot back to the election official by 8:00 pm on Election Day. Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Early Voting

Early voting is available to all voters for any reason and begins 15 days before an election. Locations vary, you can find your early voting location on the Early and In-Person Voting Locations webpage. Early ballots cast through the Thursday before the election will be counted on election night. All early ballots cast after that date, and all absentee ballots are counted beginning the 7th day after the election through the 15th day after the election.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to vote you must be:

A U.S. citizen
An Alaska resident
18 years or older 90 days before Election Day
Not a convicted felon, unless your voting rights have been restored
Not registered to vote in any other state, unless you’re willing to cancel your registration in that state

NOTE: You may register to vote 90 days before you turn 18, however, you must be 18 on or before Election Day in order to cast a ballot.

ID Needed for Voter Registration

If you register by mail, you are required to include information that will verify your identity. Such as:

Driver’s license
State ID
Passport
Birth certificate

If your identity cannot be verified when you register to vote, you will be required to provide certain identification when voting.

Driver’s license
State ID card
Birth certificate
Passport
Your birthdate
Your Social Security number or at least the last 4 digits of your Social Security number

ID Needed for Voting

You will need to show your signed voter ID card, or any other signed ID that will allow the election worker to verify your signature. A photo ID is not required. Examples include:

Driver’s license
Voter ID card
Military ID
Hunting or Fishing license
Passport
Or other current and valid photo ID

You may also present one of the following forms of ID if it includes your name and current address:

current utility bill or pay check
government check or bank statement
other government issued document

If you do not have an acceptable ID you can get one from your local DMV. If you do not have ID or your name does not appear on the precinct register, you must vote a questioned ballot. Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

Overseas and Military Voting

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation. If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Primary Election Process

Alaska has a “top four” primary system. All candidates appear on the same ballot and all voters get the same ballot. Voters choose one candidate from each race. The top four candidates from each race will move on to the General Election. If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.

Provisional Voting

Provisional (questioned) voting is available if you meet any of these criteria:

you do not have ID
your name does not appear on the precinct register at the polling place
your address has changed
you ask for a ballot you are not eligible for (in a primary election)
you already voted
an observer challenges your qualifications to vote

Once voted, questioned ballots are sent to a review board who will determine if your ballot can be counted. If your ballot is rejected or partially counted, you will receive a letter telling you the reasons. Questioned ballots are counted 15 days after the election.

Provisions for Voters with Disabilities

In addition to bilingual assistance in many polling places, the division of elections has a TTY communication device for the hearing impaired, magnifying ballot viewers at the polling places and audio recordings of the general election official election pamphlet for the visually impaired, and handicapped accessible polling places. You may bring someone to help you at the polls. The person you bring may go into the booth with you and assist you with voting. This includes election officials, friends, family members, bystanders, campaign workers and anyone else who is not your employer, an agent of your employer, or officer or agent of your union. If you had planned on going to your polling place on Election Day, but become ill or are home-bound, you can vote by having a personal representative bring you a ballot. If this is inconvenient, you can apply up to 10 days before an election for an absentee ballot to be mailed to you. If your specific type of special services needed are not covered here, please contact an elections office for assistance. For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.

Voting Machines

The voting systems used in Alaska are optical scan, touch screen-paper ballots and hand count. Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes. Touch Screen-Paper ballots: These units used in Alaska have a voter verifiable paper trail that allows the voter to verify the printed version of the ballot prior to casting the ballot. When voting on a touch screen, the voter has the option of having the ballot on the screen and/or listen to an audio version of the ballot and using a keypad to make the selection. Like the optical scan, when the polls close, the election board ends the election on the touch screen and then transmit results either via telephone line (for optical scan precincts) or by calling in the results to the regional office (for hand-count precincts). Hand Count: These precincts are those precincts that are in rural areas of the state with fewer voters. After the polls close, the election boards tally the ballots using prepared tally books and then call in the results to the appropriate regional office. The regional offices then data enter the results into the regional GEMS computer and uploads the results to the GEMS system in the Director’s Office via modem connection. There are 135 hand-count precincts in Alaska. You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission’s (EAC) resource.