Over the past few months, voters in Palmer, Wasilla and Houston sent us their top questions for this year's city council candidates. We compiled the most frequently asked questions and the hottest local issues into a survey and contacted each candidate to get their input.

All but two of the candidates agreed to participate; four ultimately did not submit responses.

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About the Mat-Su Sentinel voter guide

What you see in this voter guide is exactly what each candidate submitted. We did not provide any edits or make changes of any kind. Submitted photos were cropped for size or received minimal color corrections to display correctly on your screen. Candidates listed without a photo and with "no response" answers did not submit responses to a voter guide questionnaire disrupted by email.

How to find your city polling place

Don't know where to vote? Here's what you need to know.

Registered city voters can vote early at Houston, Wasilla and Palmer city halls starting on Sept. 16.

All City of Houston voters cast their ballots at city hall, the area's only designated polling place.

Voters in the City of Wasilla are divided into two precincts based on address. Wasilla No. 1, or 27-420 for borough, state and federal elections, is located at Wasilla City Hall. Wasilla No. 2, or 27-425 for borough, state and federal elections, is located at the Menard Center. Check the city's precinct maps to find out which polling place you should visit.

Voters in the City of Palmer are also divided into two precincts based on address. Precinct 25-320 is located in the Borough Administration building. Precinct 25-325 is located at the Borough School Administration building. View the city's precinct map to determine which polling place you should visit.

How to run as a write-in candidate in a Mat-Su city election

A write-in candidate is just what it sounds like: a candidate whose name is handwritten by a voter on the ballot. But in most municipalities, including Houston, Wasilla and Palmer, the rules don’t allow just any resident to be officially tallied as a write-in candidate. Instead, would-be write-in candidates must still meet certain local requirements and register with the city clerk, just like listed candidates.

Here's what you need to know about running as a write-in candidate in 2024.

Can you vote in city elections?

Only a small fraction of the city's residents vote each year. Could that be because many Mat-Su residents don't know if they live within city limits? Here's how to find out if you're eligible to vote in one of the Mat-Su's three municipal elections, which this year will be held on Oct. 1.

This voter guide is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org.