Mail Delays Leave 75 Rural Alaska Absentee Ballots Uncounted; State to Reroute Processing

State election officials in Juneau said 75 absentee in-person ballots cast by voters in rural western Alaska arrived too late to be counted in last month’s primary, blaming a mail delivery delay that affected seven communities.

The Alaska Division of Elections said Kotzebue, Igiugig and Naknek accounted for 62 of the late ballots. Absentee in-person ballots are routed to regional offices—in this case Nome—for review and processing, and a division spokesperson did not provide additional details about the precise cause of the delay.

Postal Service Response and Wider Context

The announcement follows reports from vote-by-mail states such as Washington and Oregon that rejections for late postmarks have risen this year. Last year, the U.S. Postal Service finalized a rule clarifying that a postmark reflects the day a processing center handled a piece of mail, not necessarily the date the agency first received it. On Thursday, Postmaster General David Steiner urged mail-ballot voters in this year’s midterms to return ballots early.

Responding to questions about the Alaska delays, Postal Service spokesperson Nikolaj Hagen said a variety of factors can affect delivery timeliness and emphasized that employees take their duties seriously. 'Without a review of the actual mailpieces involved, the Postal Service is unable to comment further,' Hagen said, adding that the agency will continue to work with Alaska election officials to identify opportunities for improved communication and coordination.

Legal Deadlines, Logistics and Local Impact

Under Alaska law, absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day and mailed from within the U.S. are accepted up to 10 days after the election. Election officials and voting advocates say that grace period does not always prevent valid ballots from arriving too late. Mail delays similarly kept some village ballots from being fully counted in 2022.

Logistics complicate voting in Alaska: most communities are not connected to the state's main road network, and air service is often essential for transporting voting materials and ballots to and from remote villages.

"These 75 ballots represent a measurable loss in participation," said Michelle Sparck, director of Get Out the Native Vote, calling the outcome damaging to trust and turnout in rural communities.

The Division of Elections said it will reroute absentee in-person ballots from parts of western Alaska away from the Nome regional office to Anchorage, the state's largest city, a change advocates described as a practical adjustment to reduce future delays.

Voter Reaction

Residents expressed frustration at losing their votes. Naknek resident Sallyann Hughes said she cast an absentee in-person ballot on Aug. 5—13 days before the primary—and later received notice that her ballot had not arrived in time. 'I was quite unpleased,' she said. 'I made an extra effort to make sure that I was there and that I voted because I wanted my vote to count and it didn't.'

Hughes said she will be out of state for the general election and plans to request an absentee ballot sent electronically. She described her intended process: download and print the ballot, obtain a witness signature, then take it to the post office, ask staff to stamp the postmark in her presence, and mail it with tracking.