Sunday is the final day to register to vote in Anchorage’s mayoral runoff election

For Anchorage residents not yet registered to vote, Sunday is the deadline to file with the state in order to cast a ballot in the city’s mayoral runoff election next month.

No candidate for mayor in the city’s regular election has crossed the 45% threshold necessary to win outright. The top two vote-getters, incumbent Mayor Dave Bronson and former Anchorage Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance, are poised for a runoff race.

In the latest preliminary ballot count, LaFrance had just over 36% of the vote and Bronson had just under 36%. Certification of the regular election results is set for the April 23 Assembly meeting.

Residents who didn’t register in time to vote in the April regular election can still register to vote in the mayoral runoff. Anchorage voters who recently moved to a new residence should also update their voter registration by Sunday to receive the runoff ballot at their new address.

Ballots in the runoff election are scheduled to be mailed to voters April 30. The final day to vote is Tuesday, May 14, according to the city’s election calendar.

Voters who will be traveling during the runoff can apply with the municipal clerk’s office to vote at a temporary address. The deadline to apply is May 7. Voters can also apply to vote by fax or email.

Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked on or before May 14 to be counted. Anchorage’s three vote centers are scheduled to open May 7 for in-person voting. After ballot packages are mailed out, voters can also return ballots to the 18 secure drop boxes across the municipality.

The Bronson and the LaFrance campaigns are preparing for a quick and hard-fought contest, with just a few weeks to sway voters.

[Third-place finisher Bill Popp endorses Suzanne LaFrance in Anchorage mayoral runoff]

LaFrance led the Assembly as chair during the first two years of Bronson’s term, and the two were often on opposite sides of clashes between the Assembly’s moderate-to-progressive supermajority and the conservative mayor’s administration.

In their pitches to voters, LaFrance and Bronson have promised to lead the city in starkly different ways. Bronson says his reelection would help keep balance in city government and put a check on the Assembly’s power. LaFrance has promised to “restore competency” to City Hall and put an end to the conflict and controversies of recent years.

Whoever is elected will take office as the city faces significant challenges, including homelessness and a lack of year-round shelter, a housing shortage with rapidly rising rents and home prices, outmigration of working-age residents and families, and high numbers of staff vacancies in several city departments.