Utqiagvik voters approve 10% marijuana tax in unofficial count

Utqiagvik voters approved Proposition 1 on Tuesday, raising the city's retail sales tax on marijuana from 8% to 10%, 433 to 272, according to unofficial results the city posted Wednesday. The measure carried both precincts, 135 to 82 in Barrow and 298 to 190 in Browerville.

The tax brought the city $364,139 in fiscal 2026, against a $500,000 budget, per the city's preliminary report for the year ending June 30. That is more than the tobacco and alcohol tax ($242,404) or the bed tax ($176,310). Total tax revenue was $795,209 of $13.6 million in city revenue. On that month's collections, Finance Director Tina Ortilla wrote that "other revenue categories such as taxes, licenses and permits, charges for services are lower than expected collections for this month."

State law, AS 29.45.670, holds sales tax increases until a majority of voters ratify them. Mayor Asisaun Toovak introduced Ordinance 03-2026 on Aug. 6, and the city scheduled a public hearing for Aug. 27. The ordinance says it takes effect upon council passage, but no record reviewed states when the city begins collecting the 10% rate or what the increase is projected to raise.

Seat E had no name on the results sheet but drew 387 write-in votes, 99 in Barrow and 288 in Browerville. The sheet does not say who received them. Heather Hopson holds Seat E, with a term running through October 2026, per the city clerk's page. Filing ran Aug. 12 to Aug. 27. In Seat F, incumbent Sarah Tua'i received 643 votes against 44 write-ins.

City code, as published through January 2018, tallies write-ins only if they exceed the smallest vote total for a printed candidate. The top vote-getter wins, with no runoff. A seat becomes vacant only when a successor is certified and seated, so Hopson holds Seat E until then. The council fills any vacancy by appointment until the next general election.

The council is set to canvass the results at 5:30 pm Tuesday, Oct. 13, at City Hall. Absentee ballots cast before polls closed count with other votes. Mailed ballots postmarked by Oct. 6 and received by Oct. 9 will be counted by the elections board on Monday, Oct. 12. The results sheet lists 68 absentee ballots outside the precinct totals without specifying which kind. The council will judge 15 questioned ballots and certify the results. Those 83 ballots are fewer than the tax measure's 161-vote margin. Who takes Seat E remains open.