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Phone: (907) 465-3438
Email: rep.liz.snyder@akleg.gov
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We have a lot of voting to do this year! The resources gathered below may help you prepare. As always, please reach out to my office if you have challenges getting your ballot in.
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The Anchorage Regular Municipal Election will be on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, and will have choices for Assembly Members, School Board Seats, and multiple props/bonds to fund roads, schools, and more. You can vote by mailing your ballot, dropping off a mailed ballot in a secure drop box, voting in person, or virtually.
Check out this link here for more information or call the Voter Hotline at 907-243-VOTE (8683).
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Voting in person will be available starting March 28th at City Hall, Eagle River Town Center, and Loussac Library.
Voting is open at all locations at these times:
Weekdays, March 28 – April 4, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 2, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday, April 3, Noon – 5 p.m.
Election Day, April 5, 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
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Using a Mail Ballot to Vote
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Ballots to vote by mail have been sent out, so be on the lookout! If you are using your mailed ballot to vote, they need to be dropped off at a ballot box (locations below) or postmarked before 8pm on April 5th.
ANCHORAGE:
- Anchorage School District Education Center – 5530 East Northern Lights Boulevard
- Bartlett High School – 1101 Golden Bear Drive
- Begich Middle School – 7440 Creekside Center Drive
- City Hall – 632 West 6th Avenue
- Clark Middle School – 150 Bragaw Street
- Dimond High School – 2909 West 88th Avenue
- Election Center – 619 East Ship Creek Avenue
- Fairview Community Recreation Center – 1121 East 10th Avenue
- Loussac Library – 3600 Denali Street
- O’Malley’s on the Green - 3651 O’Malley Road
- Planning and Development Center (MOA Permit Center) - 4700 Elmore Road
- Service High School – 5577 Abbott Road
- South Anchorage High School – 13400 Elmore Road
- Spenard Community Recreation Center – 2020 West 48th Avenue
- UAA Alaska Airlines Center – 3550 Providence Drive
- West Anchorage High School – 1700 Hillcrest Drive
CHUGIAK/EAGLE RIVER:
- Eagle River Town Center – 12001 Business Boulevard
GIRDWOOD:
- Girdwood Community Center – 250 Egloff Drive
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In addition to the upcoming Municipality of Anchorage elections and the November general election, Alaska will be holding a special election to fill the vacant congress seat left by the late Congressman Don Young. This is also the first election cycle that will use Ranked Choice Voting. Here’s what’s going to happen:
- June 11- Special primary election for Alaska’s vacant congress seat. Individuals will vote for one candidate and the top 4 will move on to the special election which is on...
- August 16- Special general election AND regular primary election. These will be on the same ballot. The special general election will use ranked choice voting.
- Nov 8- General election day. It will be ranked choice voting on the top 4 candidates from the regular primary on Aug. 16.
In short, there will be three elections with 2 of them occurring on the same day and ballot. The first ballot (June 11) will be a special primary. The second ballot (Aug 16th) will be a special election using ranked choice voting AND an open primary for the general election.
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What is Ranked Choice Voting?
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Alaska’s new election system involves an open primary and ranked choice voting for the general election. Ranked choice voting does not apply to the Municipality of Anchorage and its regular municipal election on April 5, 2022, but will be in the special and general election (above).
Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to rank candidates on the ballot in order of preference: first, second, third, and fourth. If one candidate receives a majority, or more than half of the first-choice votes, they win. If not, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated. The process repeats until there are only two candidates, and the one with the most votes wins. Watch a quick explainer video here.
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Many of you have reached out to me with concerns after the APOC decision earlier this month that eliminated campaign contribution limits. Unless the Legislature were to act, unlimited amounts of money could flood all future elections. Please know that I am in complete support of contribution limits and the role they play in ensuring free and fair elections. I am glad to say that the House took the first steps to reinstating contribution limits by passing out HB 234: POLITICAL CONTRIBUTION LIMITS.
HB 234 establishes contribution limits for individuals of up to $2,000 per election for state and local campaigns, while also establishing limits on out-of-state donations to ensure the voices of Alaskans are not drowned out by outside funders. The bill also requires these limits to be adjusted every ten years based on inflation. Additionally, it changes campaign contribution limits to “per campaign period” instead of a “per year” basis, ensuring all candidates are on the same playing field, regardless of when they enter the race. Fundraising totals are a strong indicator of a candidate’s ability to win – something that should be earned through the candidate’s quality of work and efforts to connect with their community. Big corporations have enough advocates, it is communities that need to be represented.
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The Alaska House of Representatives joined the Senate by passing Senate Joint Resolution 25 in a vote of 32-4, demanding Russia immediately cease all hostilities against Ukraine. SJR 25 condemns the illegal invasion and urges both the United States Congress and the President to consider measured and appropriate sanctions and actions that will help deescalate the conflict.
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Executive Order 121 (EO 121) - Re-organizing the Department of Health and Social Services
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EO 121 was officially enacted as of Saturday, Mar. 19. Properly vetting and going through the process of disapproving an EO was always a matter of policy and not politics. As I have said throughout the process, it is the Legislature’s prerogative to approve or disapprove an Executive Order. It is also our responsibility to ensure that such a decision is made in an informed and deliberate manner based off policy and not politics. That was always our goal in reviewing the Executive Order.
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We went through the proper procedures, and I do wish we had had the chance to properly convene with the Senate so individual legislators could cast their vote. But now our responsibility as Legislators is to ensure that the split is implemented as smoothly as possible and does not negatively impact the many Alaskans who rely on the services the Department of Health and the Department of Family and Community Services will provide.
I believe this is best done by adequately funding key programs and recruiting and retaining staff. We passed many amendments in the House Health & Social Services budget subcommittee to address these issues. Pairing the bifurcation with the approval of these budget amendments will give me confidence that improving the quality and accessibility of critical health services is a goal shared by the legislature and the administration.
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Free At-Home COVID Tests:
Beginning in January the White House offered four free at home COVID tests for every American household. Now you can order a second batch of COVID tests once again. Each household can now receive a total of eight tests from www.covidtests.gov.
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The deadline to file your PFD is March 31st, and the deadline for filing taxes is April 18, 2022.
If you need help filing your taxes, check these two online resources for free filing help: volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax-Aide, or call the IRS’s 24-hour tax help line at 1-800-829-1040.
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Thank you to all who joined us for our Anchorage Caucus event this past Saturday. The Town Hall portion of the event is available here.
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Honored as always to serve you,
Rep. Liz Snyder
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