Official results confirm Utqiagvik voters raised marijuana sales tax to 10%

Utqiagvik voters approved raising the city's retail sales tax on marijuana from 8% to 10%, 473 to 303, or 61% to 39%, according to official results the city posted Wednesday for the Oct. 6 election.

The marijuana tax brought the city $364,139 in fiscal 2026, more than its tobacco and alcohol tax or its bed tax, Alaska News reported Oct. 8, when the measure led 433 to 272 in the unofficial count. Absentee and questioned ballots added 40 yes votes and 31 no votes. The City Council passed the tax ordinance Aug. 27, but state law holds sales tax increases until voters approve them.

No one's name was on the ballot for council Seat E, and incumbent Heather Hopson won it as a write-in with 162 of 410 votes. Forrest Deano Olemaun received 53 and Marie Stackhouse 25. The other 170 votes, more than Hopson's total, were scattered among write-in names that each drew one to three votes.

Incumbent Sarah Tua'i, the only name on the ballot for Seat F, won with 706 votes to 46 write-ins. Both seats carry three-year terms, according to the city clerk's page.