The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly voted to pass an ordinance that would amend title 4 regarding borough elections and enact a new chapter of code to ensure borough elections are accessible, reliable and secure. Ordinance 2021-18 states that the peoples’ confidence in the integrity of election results is reliant on their confidence in the security of the election equipment, election workers, and infrastructure that makes elections possible.
Assemblyman Willy Dunne:
“The ordinance regarding borough elections and enacting a new chapter regarding election security and integrity incorporates some existing current policies into code through this ordinance. Right now, those are standard policies that have been going on for many years, but this would codify them. It also incorporates the ability for volunteer pole watchers to participate in observing elections. It also clarifies some of the requirements for absentee ballot witnesses and the application for absentee ballots. Assembly discussed some of these issues and during committee, we’ve got some clarifying information by the sponsor Mr. Bjorkman. There’s some new public comment that was added just recent to your packets.”
Assemblyman Tyson Cox made a clarification of the ordinance during the public comment period:
“We do not control the state elections or the federal elections. The only one we control is the borough election. We actually had no say in those elections. What I am saying is we can do what we can do for our elections, and that is what we can vote on here.”
Assemblyman Jesse Bjorkman, the Ordinance’s sponsor, states that the new chapter of borough election code addresses security of election equipment, chain of custody procedures for voting equipment, public testing of ballot tabulators, chain of custody for transportation and receipt of ballots, procedures for questioned or uncounted ballots, and a process for candidates appointing poll watchers.
Ordinance 2021-18 unanimously passed as amended. For more information on the ordinance, click here.