Chapter 3.10
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sections:
3.10.010 Administration authority.
3.10.020 Voter qualifications.
3.10.021 Rules for determining residence of voter.
3.10.075 Procedure for filling vacancies.
3.10.080 Public notice of election.
3.10.090 Polls—Opening and closing.
3.10.100 State registration list.
3.10.110 Election information supplied to state officials.
3.10.120 Precinct boundaries and polling places.
3.10.130 Preservation of election materials.
3.10.010 Administration authority.
The city council shall prescribe the general rules for conducting municipal elections in accordance with AS 29.26. (Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)
3.10.020 Voter qualifications.
A person may vote in city elections only if the person:
A. Is a United States citizen who is qualified to vote in state elections;
B. Has been a resident of the municipality for thirty calendar days immediately preceding the election;
C. Is registered to vote in state elections at a residence address within a municipality at least thirty calendar days before the city election in which the person seeks to vote; and
D. Is not disqualified to vote under Article V of the Alaska Constitution. (Ord. 11-06 § 1, 2011: Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)
3.10.021 Rules for determining residence of voter.
A. For the purpose of determining residence for voting, the place of residence is governed by the following rules:
1. The residence of a person is that place in which the person’s habitation is fixed, and to which, whenever absent, the person has the intention to return. If a person resides in one place but does business in another, the former is the person’s place of residence. Temporary construction camps do not constitute a dwelling place.
2. A change of residence is made only by the act of removal joined with the intent to remain in another place. There can only be one residence.
3. A person may not be considered to have gained a residence solely by reason of presence nor may a person lose it solely by reason of absence while in the civil or military service of the United States or of this state, or because of marriage to a person in the civil or military service of the United States or of this state, or while a student of an institution of learning, or while kept in an institution or asylum at public expense, or while confined in a public prison, or while engaged in the navigation of waters of this state, or the United States, or of the high seas.
4. A person does not lose residence if the person leaves home and goes to another country, state or place in this state for temporary purposes only and with the intention of returning.
5. A person does not gain a residence in any place to which the person comes without a present intent to establish a permanent dwelling at that place.
6. A person loses residence in this state if the person votes in another state’s election, either in person or by mail, and will not be eligible to vote in this state until again qualifying under AS 15.05.010.
7. The term of residence is computed by including the day on which the person’s residence begins and excluding the day of election. (Ord. 11-06 § 2, 2011).
3.10.022 Registration.
The election officials at any election shall allow a person to vote whose name is on the official registration list and who is qualified under this chapter and AS 15.05. A person whose name is not on the official registration list shall be allowed to vote a questioned ballot. (Ord. 11-06 § 3, 2011).
3.10.030 Regular elections.
A regular election shall be held annually on the first Tuesday in October for the election of vacant municipal offices and the determination of such other matters as may be placed on the ballot. (Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)
3.10.040 Special elections.
The city council, by resolution, may order that a special election be held. Special elections shall not be called within forty-five days preceding a regular election. The election shall be conducted on the ninth Tuesday following certification of a valid initiative, referendum or recall petition, or, in the other cases, following adoption of a resolution by the city council. (Ord. 86-9, § 1, 1986; Ord. 91-02 § 1, 1991).
3.10.050 Expenses.
A. The city shall pay all necessary election expenses, including those of securing places for polls and providing ballot boxes, ballots, voting booths, screens, supplies necessary for providing absentee voting and other supplies, and any wages due judges and clerks.
B. Salaries for the election judges and clerks shall be set by the council.
C. No official in this city may make any charge for services rendered to any voter under the provisions of this chapter.
D. All expenses incurred in an election recount shall be paid by the candidate or voters contesting the election, unless the results of the election are changed by the recount, or the difference between the winning and a losing vote on the result contested is less than two percent. (Ord. 86-9, § 1, 1986.)
3.10.060 Time off for voting.
Any qualified voter who does not have sufficient time outside his/her working hours within which to vote at any city election may, without loss of pay, take off as much working time as will enable him/her to vote. If any employee has two consecutive hours in which to vote, either between the opening of the polls and the beginning of his regular shift, or between the end of his/her regular working shift and the closing of the polls, he/she shall be deemed to have sufficient time outside his working hours within which to vote. (Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)
3.10.070 Plurality—Tie votes.
Election to office or passage of a proposition shall be by simple plurality. In the event of a tie vote, the city council shall prescribe the method and determine the winner by lot. (Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)
3.10.075 Procedure for filling vacancies.
When an elected official or officials have vacated one or more seats before the expiration of the full term, a replacement shall be elected at the next regular election for the balance of the term. (Ord. 11-07 § 1, 2011: Ord. 91-02 § 2, 1991.)
3.10.080 Public notice of election.
A. The city clerk, subject to any directions of the council, shall give at least twenty days’ notice of an election by posting notice thereof in at least three public places in the city, and by publishing the notice at least twice in a newspaper of general circulation within the city, providing there is such a newspaper, with one publication to be within seven days preceding the election.
B. Election notices shall contain the following:
1. The date of the election.
2. The time of opening and closing of the polling places.
3. The location of precinct polling places and a description of the voting precincts by boundaries.
4. The qualifications of voters and the manner, time, method and place of registration.
5. The manner of nominating candidates if candidates are to be elected.
6. The type of election, i.e., regular or special.
7. The offices to be filled or propositions to be submitted to the electors.
8. A statement as to bilingual voting assistance and handicapped access to the polls.
9. Provisions for absentee voting. (Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)
3.10.090 Polls—Opening and closing.
On election day, precinct polls shall open for voting at eight a.m. and shall remain open continuously until eight p.m.; except, on those election days when municipal and state elections are held concurrently, the precinct polls shall open for voting at seven a.m. (Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)
3.10.100 State registration list.
Within thirty days preceding the election, the city clerk shall obtain from the State of Alaska, Division of Elections, a precinct registration list which indicates the full name and residence address of all qualified voters. (Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)
3.10.110 Election information supplied to state officials.
Pursuant to AS 15.07.137, within sixty days after a city election, the city clerk shall certify and send to the director of the State Division of Elections a copy of the official precinct registration list containing the names, residence addresses and voter numbers of all persons voting in each precinct in that election. (Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)
3.10.120 Precinct boundaries and polling places.
Precinct polling places for city elections shall be those established by the state for state elections. (Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)
3.10.130 Preservation of election materials.
The clerk shall preserve all precinct election certificates, petitions, and registers, all voted ballots filed for one year after the election. All declarations of candidacy shall be preserved until the term for which the declarations were filed expires. These election materials may be destroyed after their retention period has lapsed unless an application for a recount has been filed and not completed, or unless their destruction is stayed by an order of the court. Certificates of the canvass committee are to be preserved as permanent records. (Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)
3.10.140 Severability.
Should any provision of this election code or its application to any person or set of circumstances be held invalid, the remainder of its provisions or of its application to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected. (Ord. 86-9 § 1, 1986.)