The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly passed an ordinance on Tuesday night, which amends the Borough Code concerning elections for public office.
The Ordinance, 2023-15, is a timely amendment to be sure, considering the election filing opened Monday, but more to the point, a clarifying amendment. As Mayor Peter Micciche – who initially brought the ordinance forth – described it during the meeting, “The scope of this ordinance is to clarify, and streamline, and make more efficient some of the processes that we experienced during the special election. That’s essentially what it’s about.”
In a press release, Mayor Micciche affirmed this sentiment, stating, “The limited-in-scope ordinance updated and clarified borough code that will ensure that our elections continue to be safe, secure, transparent and accurate.”
Titled, “Amending Borough Code Title 4, Elections, Regarding Declared Write-in Candidates, Canvass of Election Returns, Public Notice, and Certification of Election Results,” the ordinance primarily addresses procedures surrounding a “write-in” candidate, and the defined chronological structure for election canvassing.
For write-in candidates, the amendments are:
- A write-in candidate’s name or information will not be published on the borough website, or in published election materials;
- The total number of write-in votes must be greater than the number of votes for all other candidates before write-in votes will be reported per write-in candidate, and;
- Write-in votes will be reported per individual candidate only if the total number of write-in votes is greater than the second place vote getter, AND a run-off is required because the candidate receiving the most votes did not receive a sufficient number of votes to be certified as the winner.
Regarding election canvassing (a process used to identify supporters, persuade the undecided, and increase voter registration), the ordinance’s primary impacts are:
- A more rigid chronological structure governing the canvassing process;
- Adding regulating language to ensure the canvass process is open to citizen election observers, and the public, and;
- Additional public notice and posting requirements regarding elections-related meeting schedules.
Micciche talked about involving the community in preparing this ordinance on “Sound-Off,” KSRM’s long-running talk show hosted by Duane Bannock.
“An ordinance, like a bill, is an idea. A responsible public servant drops that idea and sends it out to the community and says, ‘Got any ideas to make this better? What do you not like about it? What do you think can be polished? What do you think I’m missing?’ And I’ve met with many people across the board, from election workers and our employees that deal with elections, and the public, and some of the different groups in the community, and they brought back some good ideas.”
The ordinance passed with a unanimous vote.