Preliminary results are in for Juneau’s election

The Mendenhall Valley Public Library operates as a Juneau Voting Center for the Juneau municipal election on October 5, 2021. (Photo by Lyndsey Brollini/KTOO)

Unofficial preliminary election results are in for Juneau’s second by-mail election. The last day to vote was Oct. 5 and ballots were taken to Anchorage on Thursday to process.

About 40% of all ballots have been processed.

‘Wáahlaal Gíidaak Barbara Blake is leading for the Juneau Assembly District 1 seat over opponents Paul Kelly and Troy Wuyts-Smith. Blake had fundraised a significant amount more than other candidates.

Michelle Bonnet Hale is leading in the Juneau Assembly District 2 race over Kelly Fishler.

The top three candidates for the Juneau School Board are Elizabeth Siddon, Amber Frommherz and Ibn Bailey. There are eight candidates aiming for three seats on the school board.

Two of those people are write-in candidates. Votes for write-in candidates were not available in this first round of results. Those votes should be counted by Oct. 15, according to the City and Borough of Juneau. Official results will not be available until Tuesday, Oct. 19.

CBJ election workers are partnering with the Municipality of Anchorage to process the ballots. The Assembly voted to put $700,000 towards turning a city-owned warehouse into a local ballot processing center, so in the future ballots will not have to be brought to Anchorage to be processed.

Any questioned ballots will be sent back to Juneau to be examined by the Canvass Review Board.

Some voters may be receiving a “cure letter.” These letters are sent out when a ballot is missing information that makes it valid, such as a signature or a personal identifier. Voters will need to respond to the letter before Oct. 19, which is when the Canvass Review Board will certify the election.

Lyndsey Brollini

Local News Reporter

I bring voices to my stories that have been historically underserved and underrepresented in news. I look at stories through a solutions-focused lens with a goal to benefit the community of Juneau and the state of Alaska.

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