Alaska voter registration deadline is today for August 18 primary

Alaskans who are not yet registered to vote have until the end of today, Sunday, July 19, to get on the rolls for the August 18 primary. State law sets the deadline at 30 days before any election. After today, there is no path to register in time for the primary.

The August 18 contest uses Alaska's top-four nonpartisan primary system, approved by voters through Ballot Measure 2 in 2020. All candidates for a given office appear on the same ballot, and the top four vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party.

Both U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and gubernatorial candidate Tom Begich used social media posts Saturday and Sunday to remind Alaskans of the deadline and urge them to check their registration status.

"Today is the LAST day to register to vote for the August 18 primary," Sullivan posted. Begich echoed the call: "Today's the deadline to register to vote in Alaska. Don't miss your chance to make your voice heard."

The Division of Elections says its list-maintenance process is tightly constrained. Under state law, the division must send two notices and wait eight years before removing a voter from the rolls. A voter who responds to a notice or casts a ballot in any election remains on the active list.

Even so, Alaska Native and rural voters may face greater exposure to list-maintenance errors because mailed notices can go undelivered in communities with nontraditional addresses or unreliable mail service. Voting rights advocates, including the Brennan Center for Justice, have warned that legally compliant list maintenance can still leave eligible voters discovering problems with their registration when they try to vote.

An unverified social-media post from Saturday claimed Begich had heard from long-time voters who logged into the Division of Elections system and found themselves no longer listed. That claim has not been confirmed by the Division of Elections or any official source.

Alaskans can check their registration status at myvoterportal.alaska.gov and register or update their information at voterregistration.alaska.gov. Early voting opens Aug. 3. Voters who want to cast an absentee ballot by mail must have their request received 10 days before the election. Online absentee applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. the day before.