Mat-Su extends ballot machines ban, tweaks Assembly member residency rules

What you need to know:

• The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly approved a measure Tuesday prohibiting the use of electronic devices for counting ballots, expanding a 2022 law that required officials to tally votes by hand. Paper counting machines, which were permitted as part of the hand-count process during the 2024 election, will no longer be allowed under the new changes.
• A separate measure approved Tuesday allows Assembly members who move out of their districts to remain in office until the next even-year election, as long as they still reside within the borough. The rule replaces a previous law that required members who move to resign before the next general election.
• A third elections-related proposal, which includes technical updates to borough voting, ballot and candidate rules, was postponed to Feb. 18.

PALMER — The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly on Tuesday approved a measure prohibiting borough election officials from using any electronic devices to count ballots on Election Day.

A separate measure, also approved Tuesday, allows Assembly members who move out of their districts to remain in office until the next even-year election, provided they stay within the borough.

Neither measure requires voter approval.

The no-electronics rule expands on a 2022 law requiring all borough votes to be counted by hand. That law did not explicitly prohibit the use of electronic assistance, such as machines designed to count the total number of submitted ballots.

The borough opted to use those paper counting machines as a safeguard against human counting errors during hand counts, Borough Clerk Lonnie McKechnie said in an interview last year. They tallied only the total number of ballots submitted and did not count votes, she said. The assembly approved funding for the equipment in early 2023, and the machines were first used to assist with counting during the November election.

But the machines caused delays on Election Day because they were unable to handle a large number of ballots, some election volunteers and poll watchers said during Tuesday’s meeting. Some citizens who testified also argued that using machines of any kind violates what they view as the intent of the 2022 hand-count rule.

McKechnie was absent from Tuesday’s meeting due to a family emergency.

The expanded prohibition approved Tuesday directs the borough clerk to “no longer use paper counters or any other electronic device or machine for counting ballots.” It also requires the clerk to propose pay raises for election officials to help attract more volunteers.

The measure passed 5-2, with Assembly members Dee McKee, whose district includes parts of Palmer and Wasilla, and Stephanie Nowers, whose district includes Palmer, voting no. The ordinance was sponsored by Assembly members Dmitri Fonov, whose district includes parts of Palmer and Wasilla, and Ron Bernier, whose district includes Trapper Creek.

Separately, the assembly approved an ordinance updating residency rules for members who move out of their districts before the end of their terms.

As proposed, the change would have allowed Assembly members who move out of their districts to serve the remainder of their four-year terms, as long as they remained in the borough.

Instead, the assembly voted 4-3 to adopt an amended version allowing members who move to remain in office until the next even-year election. The change is part of a broader assembly effort to align borough votes with state and federal election dates, which typically see higher turnout, officials said.

Voting no were Assembly members Tim Hale, whose district includes Butte; Bill Gamble, whose district includes Big Lake; and Nowers.

Fonov and McKee sponsored the original residency proposal. Maxwell Sumner, whose district includes Wasilla, introduced the amendment.

Hale, Nowers and Gamble said assembly members cannot effectively serve voters if they don’t reside in the district they represent. McKee and Fonov said assembly members frequently address concerns from residents across the borough and that providing quality representation is more important than a physical address.

The residency change was included in a larger proposed ordinance containing technical updates to the reasons for which Mat-Su Assembly members can be removed from office. That ordinance was approved unanimously.

The residency update was prompted by the September resignation of former Assembly member Rob Yundt, who represented the city of Wasilla but was required to leave his seat after moving to a neighboring district.

Borough officials said Tuesday they were unaware of any other instance of an Assembly member resigning due to a move.

A final set of election-related changes on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting was postponed to Feb. 18 due to McKechnie’s absence. That ordinance includes a series of technical updates to borough election laws requested by the clerk, such as allowing officials to begin counting early ballots before polls close on Election Day.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com