For at least one day, you can forget about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.<\/p>\n
In a year filled with contentious politics, today\u2019s primary election will be somewhat sedate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s actually kind of a quiet primary down here,\u201d said Brenda Knapp of the Tongass Democrats on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Juneau\u2019s statehouse seats are uncontested in the primary, and unlike two years ago, when Ballot Measure 1 filled Alaskans\u2019 eyes and ears with advertising, there\u2019s no referendum to stir things up, either.<\/p>\n
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
The biggest races on Juneau\u2019s ballot are statewide. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski faces three Republican challengers in her primary, and so does U.S. Rep. Don Young. In the Democratic primary, there are three Democrats to challenge Young in November, and two candidates vying to challenge Murkowski. Two Libertarians are also squaring off in a U.S. House primary.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, voter turnout was 35.6 percent in the Mendenhall Valley and 35.94 percent in House District 33 (which includes downtown Juneau).<\/p>\n
All indications are that turnout this year will be below those figures. State Division of Elections director Josie Bahnke said Monday afternoon that requests for mail-in ballots are well below where they were last year, and that traffic at early-voting locations has been low as well.<\/p>\n
That points to turnout on the order of 2012, when just 27 percent of Mendenhall Valley voters cast ballots.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Three polling stations change<\/strong><\/p>\n From her bustling office Monday afternoon, local Division of Elections supervisor Lauri Wilson said two polling stations have changed locations since the last state election. In the Mendenhall Valley, a polling station at the library has replaced one at Mendenhall Mall. In Auke Bay, the polling station is at the Auke Recreation Center instead of the fire hall. In downtown Juneau, voters will go to the new Alaska State Library, Archives and Museum.<\/p>\n Any Juneau voter can vote at any Juneau-area polling station, but if the station isn\u2019t the designated one for that voter, the voter has to cast a \u201cquestioned\u201d ballot, which is counted only after the voter\u2019s identity is verified.<\/p>\n Voters visiting Juneau from other areas of the state can cast absentee ballots at polling stations set up in the airport, the State Office Building and the Mendenhall Mall.<\/p>\n A telephone hotline is available for voters who do not know where to vote. Call 888-383-8683 for information.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Two ballots available<\/strong><\/p>\n Because today\u2019s election is a primary election, it is administered by the state but governed by the rules set by the parties. The Republican primary ballot is open only to voters registered as Republican, nonpartisan or undeclared. The other option is the A-D-L ballot, which includes candidates from the Alaska Democratic, Libertarian and Alaskan Independence Party. Any registered voter can choose this ballot.<\/p>\n Wilson said voters should be prepared to bring a photo ID to the polls, but if they don\u2019t have one available, there are alternatives.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they don\u2019t have an ID and they are personally known by the poll worker, then the poll worker can waive the ID requirement, but if they forget their ID and the workers don\u2019t know them, then they can always vote a questioned ballot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Bahnke said that although the division has been hard at work on new computer systems and better back-end equipment, those will be largely invisible to Election Day voters.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a lot of internal changes that voters aren\u2019t going to see, but polling places are going to go on the same as they always have,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tallying results<\/strong><\/p>\n Neither the Tongass Democrats nor the Capital City Republicans have scheduled any events to watch the results come in. The same goes for the state of Alaska, which earlier this year said it was eliminating all of its \u201cElection Central\u201d locations because of budget cuts.<\/p>\n That means Juneau-area politicos will be hitting \u201crefresh\u201d on the Division of Elections website and listening to public radio to get their fix of the latest results.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be at home with my family. We\u2019ll be tuning in to the radio or the internet,\u201d said Rep. Cathy Mu\u00f1oz, R-Juneau, who is uncontested in Tuesday\u2019s primary.<\/p>\n She said she expects the night will be like it was when she was growing up and her father would turn on the radio to get the latest results. They would order take-out food from the City Caf\u00e9 and listen to the news together.<\/p>\n \u201cIn those days, the returns came in all night long,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n On Tuesday night, the polls close at 8 p.m., and the first results are expected by 9 p.m. The final Election Day tally is not likely until after midnight.<\/p>\n Like Mu\u00f1oz, Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau, said he expects to watch the results from home.<\/p>\n \u201cThere will be an opportunity to kind of see where the electorate is going,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m hoping to see some support for the idea of the governor\u2019s fiscal plan, and I think that will be manifest in who is elected.\u201d<\/p>\n Justin Parish, who is challenging Mu\u00f1oz in November\u2019s general election, has his own plans for the day.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to be going back to work at Floyd Dryden, then I\u2019m going to be going out, knocking on doors (campaigning),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Juneau polling places<\/strong><\/p>\n Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n \u2022 Douglas Public Library<\/p>\n \u2022 Alaska State Library, Archives and Museum<\/p>\n \u2022 Northern Light United Church<\/p>\n \u2022 Bartlett Regional Hospital<\/p>\n \u2022 Alaska Electric Light and Power HQ (Lemon Creek)<\/p>\n \u2022 Juneau Fire Station (North Douglas)<\/p>\n \u2022 Auke Recreation Center<\/p>\n \u2022 Nugget Mall<\/p>\n \u2022 Auke Bay Ferry Terminal<\/p>\n \u2022 Mendenhall Valley Public Library<\/p>\n \u2022 Aldersgate Methodist Church (Cinema Drive)<\/p>\n \u2022 Glacier Valley Baptist Church (Mendenhall Loop Road)<\/p>\n \u2022 Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church (Mendenhall Loop Road)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Related articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n No Joe Miller time; 3 challenge Murkowski<\/a><\/p>\n Don Young faces 3 Republican challengers<\/a><\/p>\n Libertarian options for U.S. House<\/a><\/p>\n Stevens offers Libertarian option in US Senate race<\/a><\/p>\n