Chapter 3.28
OPERATION OF POLLS
Sections:
3.28.020 Opening of polling place.
3.28.040 Voter identification at polls.
3.28.050 Persons not on official registration list.
3.28.060 Providing ballot to voter.
3.28.080 Placing ballot in ballot box.
3.28.090 Questioning procedure.
3.28.010 Election officials.
A. Before each election, the City Clerk, subject to approval by the Council, shall appoint at least three judges in the precinct. The City Clerk shall designate one election judge from each precinct as the chairman, who shall be primarily responsible for administering the election in the precinct.
B. The City Clerk may appoint election officials and counters at any polling place where they are needed to conduct an orderly election and to relieve the election judges of undue hardship.
C. If any appointed election official is not able or refuses to serve on election day, the City Clerk may appoint a replacement for that official.
D. Each election official serving at a precinct polling place must be a qualified voter and, if possible, a resident within the precinct for which he is appointed.
E. All election judges, election officials and counters before entering upon their duties must subscribe to the oath required of all public officers by the Constitution of the State of Alaska in the manner prescribed by the City Clerk.
F. Candidates shall not serve as election officials. Certain familial relationships may not exist between a candidate and a precinct election judge, elections official or member of a ballot counting team in regular, runoff or special elections. Those familial relationships are:
1. Mother, mother-in-law, stepmother;
2. Father, father-in-law, stepfather;
3. Sister, sister-in-law, stepsister;
4. Brother, brother-in-law, stepbrother;
5. Spouse; or
6. Person sharing the same living quarters.
G. If the City Clerk knows or learns that any of these relationships exists, the precinct election judge, election office, or member of the ballot counting team shall be notified and replaced. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)
3.28.020 Opening of polling place.
A. On the day of the election, the election board shall open the polls for voting at 7:00 a.m., shall close the polls for voting at 8:00 p.m., and shall keep the polls continuously open during the time between those hours. The election board shall report to the polling place by 6:30 a.m. so that voting will start promptly at 7:00 a.m. The chairman of the election board shall rotate times at which election judges, board members, and election officials may be relieved for breaks or meals; provided, however, that at all times at least two judges from the election board are present at the polling place.
B. Before issuing any ballots, the election board must, in the presence of any persons assembled at the polling place, open and exhibit the ballot box to be used at the polling place. The ballot box then shall be closed and shall not be opened again or removed from the polling place until the polls have closed. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)
3.28.030 Voter registration.
The judges shall keep an original register or registers in which each voter before receiving his ballot shall sign his name and give both his residence and mailing addresses. A record shall be kept in the registration book, in a space provided, of the names of persons who offer to vote but who actually do not vote, and a brief statement of explanation. The signing of the register constitutes a declaration by the voter that he is qualified to vote. If any election official present believes the voter is not qualified, he may question the voter in accordance with the provisions of this title. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)
3.28.040 Voter identification at polls.
A. Before being allowed to vote, each voter shall exhibit to an election official one form of identification, including but not limited to an official voter registration card, driver’s license, passport, or hunting or fishing license.
B. An election official may waive the identification requirement if the election official knows the identity of the voter.
C. A voter who cannot exhibit a satisfactory form of identification shall be allowed to vote a questioned ballot. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)
3.28.050 Persons not on official registration list.
If a person’s name does not appear on the official registration list in the precinct in which the person seeks to vote, the person may vote a questioned ballot. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)
3.28.060 Providing ballot to voter.
When a voter has qualified to vote, the election official shall give the voter an official ballot. The voter shall retire to a booth or private place to mark the ballot. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)
3.28.070 Assisting voter.
A qualified voter who cannot read, mark the ballot, or sign his name may request an election official or not more than two persons of his choice to assist him. If the election official is requested, he shall assist the voter. If any other person(s) is requested, the person(s) shall state upon oath before the election official that he will not divulge the vote cast by the person whom he assists. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)
3.28.080 Placing ballot in ballot box.
When the voter has marked the ballot, the voter shall inform the election official. The City Clerk may require that the voter return the ballot to the election official temporarily so that any stub, which may be part of the ballot, may be removed by the election official. Any such requirement shall protect the secrecy of the ballot. In all cases the voter in the presence of the election official shall deposit the ballot in the ballot box unless the voter requests the election official to deposit the ballot. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)
3.28.090 Questioning procedure.
A. If the polling place of a voter is in question, the voter shall vote a questioned ballot after complying with subsection (C) of this section.
B. Every election official and election judge shall question, and every watcher and any other person qualified to vote in the precinct may question, a person attempting to vote if the questioner has good reason to suspect that the questioned person is not qualified to vote in the election.
C. The questioned person, before voting, shall subscribe to an oath or affirmation on a form provided by the election official attesting to the fact that in each particular the person meets all the qualifications of a voter, is not disqualified, and has not voted at the same election. If the question is to residence within the precinct or voting area, the person shall also state the place from which that person came immediately before living in the precinct where offering to vote. After the questioned person has executed the oath or affirmation, the person may vote. If the questioned person refuses to execute the oath or affirmation, the person shall not vote.
D. A voter who casts a questioned ballot shall vote his ballot in the same manner as prescribed for other voters. After the election official or judge removes the numbered stub from the ballot, the voter shall insert the ballot into a small envelope and put the small envelope into a larger envelope on which the statement he previously signed is located. These larger envelopes shall be sealed and deposited in the ballot box. When the ballot box is opened, these envelopes shall be segregated, counted, compared to the voting list, and delivered to the election canvassing board. The election canvass board shall review and judge the applicability of all questioned ballots. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)
3.28.100 Closing of polls.
A. Fifteen minutes before the closing of the polls, and at the time of closing the polls, an election official shall announce both the designated closing time and the actual time at which the announcement is made. Failure to make the announcement at fifteen minutes before closing time shall not in any way invalidate the election or extend the time for closing of the polls. After closing, no person will be allowed to enter the polling place for purposes of voting. Every qualified voter present and in line at the time prescribed for closing the polls may vote.
B. When the polls are closed and the last vote has been cast, the election board shall account for all ballots by completing a ballot statement containing, in a manner prescribed by the City Clerk, the number of official ballots supplied.
C. The election board shall count the number of questioned ballots and shall compare that number to the number of questioned voters in the register. Discrepancies shall be noted on the ballot statement. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)
3.28.120 Prohibitions.
A. During the hours that the polls are open, no election official may discuss any political party, candidate or issue while on duty.
B. During the hours the polls are open, no person who is in the polling place or within two hundred feet of any entrance to the polling place may attempt to persuade a person to vote for or against a candidate, proposition or question. Nor may any person conduct other political activities that may pertain to any future election or potential ballot proposition. The election board shall post warning notices in the form and manner prescribed by the City Clerk.
C. No voter may exhibit a ballot to an election official or any other person so as to enable any person to ascertain how the voter marked the ballot.
D. While the polls are open no election official may open any ballot received from a voter, mark a ballot by folding or otherwise so as to be able to recognize it, or otherwise attempt to learn how a voter marked a ballot, or allow the same to be done by another person.
E. No person may leave the polling place with the official ballot that the person received to mark. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)
3.28.130 Unused ballots.
The numbers of all ballots not issued in a special City election shall be recorded and then all such ballots shall be disposed of as instructed by the City Clerk before the ballot box is opened. The numbers of ballots damaged by voters and replaced by election officials shall also be recorded. The record of ballots not issued and ballots damaged and replaced shall be preserved for at least thirty days. (Ord. 05-09 § 2, 2005)