Courtesy of the Division of Elections:
OCTOBER 12, 2020 JUNEAU, AK – The Alaska Supreme Court today agreed with the lower
court that in light of the pandemic, for the 2020 general election only, voters do not need to get
their absentee ballots witnessed. In order for a person’s vote to count, voters must still sign the
back of the absentee ballot envelope and provide the voter identifier, such as date of birth,
driver’s license number, etc. The Division of Elections also recommends that voters date their
signature on the back of the envelope. Normally, the witness would date their signature, but
since there is no witness requirement, the voter is encouraged (but not required) to fill this
information in.
There is also nothing prohibiting a voter from having their ballot witnessed, and any ballot that is
witnessed will be counted, so long as it meets all the other statutory requirements, just as it
would have been prior to the court’s order.
The Division of Elections is finalizing an instructional video that will be available on its website in
the next few days to assist voters in the steps they need to take to cast their absentee ballots.
The division encourages voters to review the division’s website, if they have questions, or
contact the division at 907-465-4611.
See that?
This has been pissing me off ever since I learned this was a thing back when I mailed off my mail-in ballot for the primary.
I mean we are in the middle of a fucking pandemic, why would we be encouraging people to seek out others outside of their bubbles for a stupid signature?
Anyhow it is no longer a thing, so in Alaska at least we can fill out our ballots and send them in without having to interact with anybody we do not want to interact with.
And that is a good thing.
https://www.adn.com/politics/2020/09/07/alaskans-interest-in-voting-by-mail-has-never-been-higher-heres-a-guide-to-voting-in-the-november-election/
And the ballot does not have to be notarized in Michigan. Our local newspaper had a front-page article the other day showing a notary public set up to notarize ballots – in Nevada. I wonder how many readers thought it was also needed here in Michigan.
The Lincoln Project is going after Dan Sullivan. In a BIG way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C46aOJJhvOQ
I just want to record on here that I voted yesterday.
I voted in an early polling location, with no lines, and the people were all wearing their masks and social distancing.
So all in all it was a good experience.
And the feeling of accomplishment when you finish voting is not to be missed.