1,900 Alaskans flagged as 'inactive non-citizen' can still vote Tuesday

About 1,900 Alaska voters go into Tuesday's primary still flagged on the state's rolls as "inactive non-citizen," and the Division of Elections says it will not clear those flags in bulk beforehand. The flag does not cancel a registration. Citizens can restore active status by phone, email or mail, with no documents required, and can vote in the meantime.

Three routes are still open. Early and in-person absentee voting is under way and runs through Tuesday. An absentee ballot can still be requested by fax or online until 5 p.m. Monday, though the deadline to request one by mail passed on Aug. 8. Or vote in person Tuesday and ask for a questioned ballot. To restore active status, call the division at (866) 952-8683, email [email protected], or check your record at myvoterportal.alaska.gov.

"A questioned ballot is identical to the ballots all other voters will cast," Director Carol Beecher wrote. "The only difference is that it is placed in an envelope on which the voter declares, under penalty of perjury, that he or she is a citizen and is otherwise qualified to vote." Questioned ballots are reviewed by election officials before counting.

Beecher gave the figures in an Aug. 6 letter to the chairs of the Joint House Judiciary and State Affairs Committee, following a July 22 hearing and written questions from legislators. "The Division does not intend to return all recipients to active status automatically," she wrote. "In addition, many precinct registers have already been printed and mailed for the primary election, making wholesale changes impractical at this stage."

The division compared the statewide voter registration list, 580,478 records, against Division of Motor Vehicles data, identifying 15,227 registered voters not designated as citizens in DMV records. It narrowed the list to 3,058 voters whose registration said citizen while DMV records reflected a different status, about one half of one percent of Alaska's registered voters. On June 30 the division mailed those 3,058 notices and marked their records "inactive non-citizen."

Six weeks later, more than 100 recipients reported they are not citizens and asked that their registrations be cancelled. About 685 affirmed citizenship and were returned to active status. More than 350 letters came back undeliverable. The remaining 1,900 have not contacted the division.

A similar check in 2024 saw DMV review roughly 2,000 records and flag about 400, with nearly 200 more identified through the Permanent Fund Dividend Division; non-responders were also designated inactive non-citizens. Separately, the League of Women Voters of Alaska and co-plaintiffs sued Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom in April, arguing the state's list maintenance uses "unreliable data sources" and deactivates voters "without the individualized investigation and notice required by law." The Aug. 6 letter reflects only the division's account.

The division has promised a follow-up notice to the 1,900 non-responders. Further DMV comparisons are paused pending evaluation of this first effort.