​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​VOTERS
   CANDIDATES
​   RESULTS   ​​​​​MEDIA CENTER​

Pro-Voter Technology

We are working to make Anchorage the best jurisdiction in the United States to vote at home! We use pro-voter technology to build trust and ensure every valid vote counts.


Track Your Ballot
TXT2Cure
Accessible Voting

Track Your Ballot

MOA Elections and BallotTrax have partnered t​o provide ballot tracking! 

Voters can sign up at anchoragev​otes.com to get text, email, or voicemail alerts when their ballot package or return ballot envelope reaches various points in the election process. For example, a voter will receive an alert when their ballot package has been mailed, or when their ballot return envelope is received by MOA E​lections.

Ballot tracking gives voters confidence in the election by helping them know where their ballot is at all times, sending an alert if there is a problem with their ballot for quick resolution, and sending an alert that their ballot has been accepted and is being counted.​


Sign Up

Signing up is easy! ​

  1. ​Go to anchoragevotes.com. 
  2. Enter your first and last name (as it appears on your voter registration card), your year of birth, and your residential zip code.
  3. On the right side, select your contact preferences. 
    • ​Do you want to receive alerts by email, by text, or by voicemail? You can chose more than one option. 
    • Provide your email address, cell phone number, or other phone number as necessary based on your selection.
  4. Set the time period for notifications to ensure you do not receive an alert in the middle of the night. The default time period is 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

​You can change these selections at any time by logging in again (Step 2 above).

If you don't wish to receive alerts but want to check the status of your ballot, you can log in (Step 2 above) and see your ballot status without signing up for alerts.​


Receive Alerts

You will receive alerts in the manner you selected (email, text, voicemail) when:​

  1. Your ballot package is mailed to you.
  2. Your ballot return envelope is mailed back to MOA Elections through USPS.
  3. MOA Elections receives your ballot return envelope, through the mail, or from a secure drop box or vote center.
  4. The signature on your ballot​ return envelope is determined to match the reference signature(s) on​ file from the State of Alaska Voter Registration Database and your ballot has been accepted and is being counted; OR
  5. There was a problem with the signature on your ballot return envelope and further action must be taken in order for your vote to be counted.​​​​

TXT2Cure

Voters in the Municipality will have the option to fix ballot signature discrepancies with their smartphones for this year’s Regular Municipal Election using TXT2Cure, a pro-voter initiative to help ensure that every valid vote counts. 


​Signature Discrepancy Procedure

Per AMC 28.70.030D, if a ballot return envelope is missing a signature or if the signature cannot be verified, election officials will send a cure letter to the voter explaining the lack of a valid signature within three business days. The cure letter is sent to the address to which the ballot was mailed and gives the voters options to cure the signature discrepancy.


How to Cure Ballot via Text

With TXT2Cure, the voter can cure their signature discrepancy with their phone.

  1. Text​​ “Anchorage" to 28683 and click on the link in the automatic reply.  
  2. Enter the voter ID number. If you don't know your voter ID number, call the Voter Hotline at 907-243-VOTE.
  3. Complete questionnaire.
  4. Sign the affidavit presented in the portal. ​Your affidavit signature is not used in the signature verification process. 
  5. Take a photo of an acceptable form of ID, such as a drivers license.
  6. Select “Submit." 

The voter's information is then electronically transmitted to the MOA Election Center to be processed during business hours. If the voter completes those steps before the deadline of 4:00 p.m. on May 29​, 2024, their ballot will be counted​.​


ADA-Accessible Voting Machines

Voters in the Municipality who have visual or physical impairments may vote independently and privately using accessible voting machines at Anchorage Vote Centers this election season.

The machines are secure touch-screen computers with built-in accommodations most often used by people with visual and/or mobility impairments. For example, the machine can read a ballot to a person with visual impairments or accommodate sip-and-puff navigation for a person with physical limitations. The system is locked until activated by an election official, who uses two-factor authentication to open the voting session.


Accommodations Provided

  • Audio Tactile Interface (ATI) – The machine is equipped with an audio tactile interface (ATI), a “game controller” style console with braille markings that enables a voter to listen to an audio version of the ballot, to make selections for each race or question on the ballot, to review all selections and make changes if necessary, and to finalize their ballot privately and independently. 
  • Sip-and-puff – Voters who use "sip and puff" or tactile input switches may plug their own assistive devices into the ATI controller and use them to operate it.
If you or someone you know needs accommodations to vote with independence and privacy, please visit an Anchorage Vote Center and ask an election official to use an accessible voting machine.


​FAQs

Why do we need ADA-Accessible Voting Machines?
All registered, qualified voters have a right to vote. These devices provide ADA-accessible accommodations. For example, the system can read a ballot to a person with visual impairments, or accommodate sip-and-puff navigation for a person with physical limitations. These accommodations allow a person to complete their ballot independently and privately.

How will they work?
The purpose of purchasing the ADA accessible equipment is to make at least one accessible station available at each Anchorage Vote Center. People in need of accommodations would access the device by visiting an Anchorage Vote Center and requesting an accommodation from an election official. The election official would use two-factor authentication to open a voting session on the device. The election official would then leave the voter to complete their ballot independently and privately.

After the voting session is complete, the voter uses the system to print a paper version of their ballot, which the voter then folds and inserts into the ballot return envelope. The ballot return package then enters the Election Center processing stream.

How Will the Devices be Secured?
The device is a touchscreen tablet, with only two connections: to power and to a printer. The air-gapped system has no connection to the internet or any other network and can only be activated with two-factor authentication by an election official. The system is locked until activated by an election official, who uses two-factor authentication to open the voting session.

Concerns about Dominion ImageCastX Devices
The Anchorage Election team selected Dominion ImageCastX devices to provide accessible voting, and because of the noted vulnerabilities of a previous version of the platform, the Elections team conducted a thorough review of the findings of the CISA Customer Advisory before making the selection. It was determined that the issues found with the previous version of the system do not pertain to the device's implementation in Anchorage because they will not be connected to the Internet and will not be used to transmit votes – they will only be used for voters who wish to use the device for assistance transferring their votes to a paper ballot.

Anchorage Election Security Procedures
Municipality of Anchorage elections have a strong reputation for security, accessibility, transparency, and accountability to the voters. In addition to generating noteworthy voter turnout, the 2020 MOA election was recognized by the Sightline Institute for being a safe and smooth election during the pandemic. The Election Team will employ the same high standards for physical and procedural security measures to ensure the validity of each ballot completed using the ADA-accessible system, as they do with all other aspects of the elections.

Why Now?
The Anchorage Elections team has been working to bring on this technology for several years, but the issue took on renewed urgency after the State of Alaska was sued in June 2022 for not having accessible devices in the special primary for the U.S. House seat that was conducted by mail. Bringing on these new machines make Anchorage elections even more accessible and also help the Municipality stay in alignment with state and federal election laws and standards. Lawsuit filed over ballot access in Alaska special primary | AP News​

​

.​​​​





​​​

​907-243-VOTE elections@anchorageak.gov
​619 E Ship Creek Ave., Ste. 100, Door D Anchorage, AK 99501