Mat-Su voters will see two major changes on November ballots

PALMER – Matanuska-Susitna Borough voters will see two subtle but significant changes on local ballots in November due to updates to election laws made by the borough assembly earlier this year.

Beginning this year, candidates elected to full terms as mayor or to the borough assembly will serve four years, up from three. And candidates for mayor, assembly and school board can appear on the ballot with a political party affiliation, a first for local governments in the state.

The assembly approved the updates earlier this year. They were sponsored by Assembly member Rob Yundt, who has since resigned. While officials briefly considered seeking voter approval for the changes, the assembly ultimately voted to proceed without it.

Though the changes appear minor on the ballots – candidates are newly paired with political affiliation and offices are listed as “for a four-year term” instead of “for a three-year term” – officials hope the impact will be significant, some assembly members said during a meeting on the updates earlier this year.

Extending terms from three to four years means Mat-Su voters will cast ballots for assembly members and mayor at the same time as state and national races, a move that could increase turnout for local elections, officials said.

In 2022, voter turnout was about 41% when local and statewide offices appeared at the same time, according to borough election data. It fell to about 10% for borough-only races in 2023.

Under the change, new borough mayors or assembly members elected for the first time in November and beyond can serve up to eight years total, or two four-year terms. The rule does not extend the current terms of assembly members or the mayor.

The change to term lengths also does not apply to current or future school board members. While term lengths for the mayor and assembly are set by borough law, school board rules are governed by state law and cannot be altered by a vote of the assembly.

Mat-Su officials plan to work with state lawmakers to update those rules to allow boroughs to change school board terms, they said at a joint assembly and school board meeting this month. If that happens, the assembly would likely vote to move the school board to the four-year schedule as well.

While extending term limits is intended to increase voter turnout, adding partisan labels is meant to improve voter information, assembly members said earlier this year.

By law, all borough elections are nonpartisan. But officials said that rule refers to whether the borough holds closed primaries, not whether candidates can identify a political party. Some assembly members said that adding party information to ballots will help voters understand candidates' platforms.

“I was out campaigning... every door I knocked on, the first question they asked me was, ‘Are you a Republican or a Democrat?’” Assembly member Bill Gamble, whose area includes Big Lake, said during a January debate on the measure. “I think the more information people have, the better they can make decisions.”

Under the rule, candidates can appear on ballots with the party listed on their voter registration, as "unaffiliated" or "nonpartisan."

A borough-produced election brochure set to be mailed to registered voters does not highlight or provide information about either change. A 2023 version of the pamphlet noted that borough elections are nonpartisan; the 2024 version does not address the issue.

-- Amy Bushatz can be contacted at abushatz@matsusentinel.com.