Let’s start with who can vote, and where.
If you’re registered to vote in Bethel, and you haven’t already voted early, you can vote in the Oct. 5 local election. If you’re not sure about your voter registration status, you can check here. If you applied for the Permanent Fund Dividend, then you’re automatically registered to vote in Alaska. If you’re not already registered to vote, it’s too late to do so and you’ll have to wait until the next election.
There are two places to vote in town. Where you vote depends on which precinct you live in. Precinct 1 encompasses the northern neighborhoods in Bethel, and Precinct 2 contains the southerly neighborhoods. If you live in Precinct 1, you’ll vote at the Lower Kuskokwim District Office. It’s the big green building next to Bethel Regional High School at 1004 Ron Edward Memorial Drive. If you live in Precinct 2, you’ll vote at the Bethel Cultural Center, located at 401 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway.
The polls in each location are open from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Each election will be on its own ballot.
There are four seats open for Bethel City Council, and each is for a two-year term. Six candidates are in the race. The candidates are: Mary "Beth" Hessler, Jared Karr, Conrad “CJ” McCormick, Jess Schroeder, Mark Springer, and Eric Whitney.
In the Lower Kuskokwim School District Board race, six candidates are running for four seats. Each is for a three-year term. Candidates run for seats from their villages. Two candidates are running unopposed: Richard Long of Kwethluk and Michael Husa of Bethel. Another seat in Bethel is contested. It’s currently held by Deanna Latham, who is being challenged by Catherine Cedars. Lastly, the Coastal Villages’ seat is contested as well. Currently the seat is held by incumbent Katie Anthony of Nightmute, and Felix Anthony of Tununak is challenging her.
In the Bethel Advisory School Board elections, there are seven candidates vying for six open seats. Terms are for three years. The candidates are Sonya Beaver, Deshan Foret, Brian Jackson, Mark Jones, Jamie Jacobs-McDonald, Winter Montgomery, and Wyatt Rogers.
Unofficial results for the Bethel City Council race will likely be available on Oct. 5, around or after 9 p.m. KYUK will post them to our website and Facebook page. The unofficial results don’t include mail-in ballots, questioned ballots, special needs ballots, or electronically transmitted ballots. The official results will be available on Oct. 7, and the Bethel City Council is expected to certify the election results on Oct. 12.
The unofficial results from the school board elections will be available this evening around 9 p.m. as well. You can click here to see the results in real time. They’ll be updated every 30 minutes.
