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Municipal clerk outlines election briefing schedule, contingency planning for outages
Summary
The municipal clerk asked the Assembly committee for scheduled updates during and after the 2025 election cycle, asked for off‑cycle review of Title 28 amendments, and said election staff have contingency plans that could include work with state partners and possible emergency briefings if nefarious activity occurs.
The Municipal Clerk told the Anchorage Assembly Quality Municipal Services, Ethics and Elections Committee on Jan. 22 that the clerk’s office plans regular briefings during the 2025 election cycle and will ask the committee to review local election code changes off cycle.
The clerk said the elections team will provide an on‑cycle update in February or March on how new initiatives are working and what steps were taken “to safeguard the election, to the extent possible without giving away our security secrets.” The office also plans an after‑action report in May or June, a Title 28 review in August–October and additional meetings if major incidents occur.
Why it matters: The committee performs oversight and coordination on municipal elections. The clerk’s timeline is intended to balance operational independence during active voting with legislative review of code and procedural changes when elections are not underway.
During the meeting, Committee members and staff discussed contingency planning for a substantial power outage at the election center. Member Constant asked whether the building has a generator or agreements in place to power vote processing during an outage after public testimony raised such concerns. The clerk said the office has been developing contingency plans that range from local generator backup to working with state partners in extreme scenarios.
Committee members also noted the annual Title 28 review and that some state legislative proposals affecting elections will be tracked by the Assembly’s legislative committee; any enacted state law would be handled as implementation matters for this committee. Committee members raised potential conflict‑of‑interest questions if committee members are candidates; staff advised code generally requires participation in administrative election actions even if a member’s name appears on a ballot.
The clerk said the office would return with the scheduled briefings and would request the committee’s assistance in reviewing proposed code changes and handbook edits in the late summer and fall period.
The committee took no formal vote on the clerk’s request during the Jan. 22 meeting.
