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Vote Aug.16 in the special general election and 'pick-one' primary

Dean Swope
/
KYUK

Aug. 16 is election day for the state "pick-one" primary and for the U.S. House special general election.

You can still vote early in-person today, Aug. 15., in some Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages. The following communities have early voting sites still open: Akiak, Aniak, Bethel, Crooked Creek, Emmonak, Kipnuk, Kotlik, Marshall, Mountain Village, Napakiak, Napaskiak, Newtok, Nightmute, Nunam Iqua, Oscarville, Quinhagak, St. Mary’s, Tuluksak, and Upper Kalskag.

On election day, Aug. 16, voting sites will be open in communities across the region. In Bethel, voters can cast ballots at two precinct locations: the Lower Kuskokwim School District Office at the LKSD Board room at 1000 Ron Edwards Way, or at the Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center at 420 Chief Eddie Hoffman Hwy.

For more information on where you can vote in-person in your community, you can check your polling place online.

Today, Aug. 15, is also the last day to apply for an electronic transmission ballot. If you’d like to request a ballot,apply online before 5 p.m. If you’re voting by mail, your ballot must be postmarked by the end of the day tomorrow on Aug. 16.

On the ballot, the special election features Democrat Mary Peltola, who represented the lower Kuskokwim area in the state legislature for a decade. Two Republicans are also running: former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and Nick Begich III, the former co-chair of the Alaska Republican Party finance committee. All three are competing to fill the seat vacated by the late Don Young. Whoever wins will represent Alaska in the U.S. House until the November general election.

That election is ranked choice, meaning voters list their top candidates in order of preference.

The pick-one primary includes races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, state senator, and state representative. For those races, voters only choose one candidate.

Both the special election and the pick-one primary will be on the same ballot.

Will McCarthy was a temporary news reporter at KYUK. Previously, he worked as a furniture mover, producer, and freelance journalist. Will's written for the New York Times, National Geographic, and Texas Monthly. He holds a master's degree in journalism from UC Berkeley.