Anchorage election results unchanged Monday with majority of ballots counted

There were no significant changes in the election outcomes for Anchorage mayor, school board and nine propositions in preliminary results released Monday.

With 35.6% and 36.2% of the vote respectively, Anchorage incumbent Mayor Dave Bronson and former Assembly chair Suzanne LaFrance appear set to face each other in a runoff. By Monday’s count, the two were separated by 460 votes.

Incumbent school board members Pat Higgins, Carl Jacobs and Dora Wilson are holding their seats against their opponents. On Monday, none of the percentages shifted in those races: Higgins had 55% of the vote over candidate Kay Schuster; Jacobs had 57% of the vote over candidate Chelsea Pohland; and Wilson had 63% of the vote over candidate Angela Frank.

Two of nine ballot propositions appear set to fail — Proposition 8, a $5 million area-wide bond for adding 10 public restrooms around the municipality, is failing with 61% of voters against it. Proposition 7, a $4.1 million bond for creating two new cemeteries in Girdwood and Eagle River, is failing with about 56% of voters against it. The school bond is passing with 52% of the vote.

By Monday, the Anchorage election center reported counting 70,983 ballots, 3,864 more than Friday’s count, representing just under 30% of registered voters.

Though the majority of ballots have been counted, they continue to trickle in to the election center by mail. The regular election’s results won’t be final until certification by the Assembly on April 23.

Ballot packages for the mayoral runoff election are scheduled to be mailed on April 30, with the final day to vote on May 14.