Residents and assembly debate mail-ballot changes; ordinance postponed for rewrite

During the June 10 public hearing, residents urged the Denali Borough Assembly to preserve broad mail-ballot access and to keep postmark-based deadlines rather than a received-by cutoff. Paul Leg of Healey told the assembly the proposed changes to ordinance 26-09 — including ending universal mailing of ballots and requiring mailed ballots to be received by 8 p.m. on election day — would "move us away from the fundamental principle" of maximizing access in a geographically dispersed borough.

Other public speakers, however, told the assembly they had observed ballot forwarding and double-registration cases and said a received-by rule would help deter or limit fraud. "I personally know of instances where ballots have gone to the post office and gotten forwarded to another state," one commenter said.

Assembly members debated the tradeoffs: several said the borough’s practice of mailing ballots to all registered voters costs a modest amount relative to the overall budget (staff cited roughly $12,250 in mailing costs in 2025) and helps residents in remote areas participate. Others said maintaining public confidence and timely results also matters. One assembly member proposed retaining the current postmark-based rule and keeping administrative housekeeping updates; another member sought to preserve the existing mailing program.

By consensus the assembly postponed final action and asked staff to draft a substitute or housekeeping ordinance that preserves access while clarifying administrative processes, and to collect additional public comment. The delay allows staff to reconcile operational details (how mail is processed in regional hubs, precinct register availability) before returning the ordinance to the assembly.