Fairbanks voters decide tax cap, election date and hand-count initiatives Tuesday

Fairbanks North Star Borough voters will fill three Assembly seats and three School Board seats Tuesday and decide three citizens' initiatives: one to reenact the borough's tax revenue cap, one to move local elections to November and one to require that every ballot be counted by hand. Polls are open 7 am to 8 pm (polling place finder).

Fairbanks and North Pole city council seats are also on the ballot, along with a North Pole initiative to change the city's election date.

The propositions

All three are citizens' initiatives, according to the borough's Election Information page. Under Alaska law, any of them that passes becomes law for two years, and neither the Assembly nor voters can repeal or change it during that time, according to factual statements the Assembly adopted for the election pamphlet.

Proposition 1 would reenact the borough's tax revenue cap, which is already in borough code. The cap limits the total tax revenue the borough can collect each year to the previous year's amount, with increases allowed for inflation, new construction, voter-approved services, bond payments, legal judgments against the borough and emergencies. It covers all borough taxes, including property, hotel-motel, alcohol, tobacco and marijuana taxes, but it does not set a property tax rate and does not adjust for cuts in state funding. A yes vote locks the cap in for two years. A no vote keeps the current cap, but the Assembly could then change it.

Proposition 2 would move borough elections from the first Tuesday in October to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, with related changes to the mailed absentee ballot deadline and the terms of the Assembly's presiding officers. In even-numbered years, that's the same day as the state general election, but the borough would still run and pay for its own election, with separate check-ins, ballots and ballot boxes. The Assembly's statement says the borough doesn't expect the change to save money, could lose cost-sharing with the cities of Fairbanks and North Pole if they keep October elections, and would face one-time equipment costs.

Proposition 3 would require that all borough ballots be counted by hand by registered borough voters, with observation as authorized by law, starting with the 2027 election cycle, and would bar electronic tabulators from producing or certifying results. Ballots are currently counted electronically. Under the proposal, unofficial election-night results would typically take longer, but official results would come on the same timeline, according to the Assembly's statement. Voters would also lose the tabulator's check that flags ballot-marking problems. The initiative includes no cost estimate.

The races

According to the borough's official candidate list:

Assembly: Seat D, held by Liz Reeves, is open, with Alexis Howell and Miguel Ramirez running. In Seat E, incumbent Nick LaJiness faces Shelly Shupe. In Seat H, incumbent Scott W. Crass faces Joshua Leaders.

School Board: In Seat E, incumbent Tim Doran faces Sally L. Gant. In Seat F, incumbent Bobby Burgess faces Robert Herrick and Jaimee Coon. Seat G, held by Meredith Maple, is open, with Sean Holland and Bridger Terra running.

Two Interior Gas Utility board seats each have a single candidate.

Fairbanks City Council: Aaron Lojewski, Laura D. Houger and Tom Allen are running for Seat E, and John Ringstad is unopposed for Seat F, according to the city's sample ballot. The city has no propositions on the ballot.

Also Tuesday

The state Division of Elections runs Regional Educational Attendance Area elections Tuesday, choosing school boards in communities outside organized boroughs.

Looking ahead to the Nov. 3 general election, Tanana Chiefs Conference is hosting nonpartisan virtual candidate forums from noon to 2 pm: U.S. House on Tuesday, and governor and State House District 36 on Thursday. TCC does not endorse candidates.