Finding polling places made easy

MAT-SU -- Don't be surprised if you show up Tuesday at the polling place you have been visiting for the past 15 years and your neighbor, an election official, asks you to point out on a map exactly where you live. They're following instructions to double-check where voters live to ensure that, after the recent round of redistricting in which the borough gained eight precincts, voters are in the right place.

When the map that was drawn up and amended by the Alaska Redistricting Board was approved this summer, individual precinct lines were redrawn. That means some voters are now in new voting precincts and may be voting in different Mat-Su Borough Assembly races than they voted in during the past 10 years.

Voters can verify their voting precinct in several different ways. The Alaska Division of Elections has a toll-free number voters can use to find their polling places. The automated voice on the Polling Place Locator, at 1-888-383-8683, will request a Social Security Identification number or a voter number. Voter numbers can be found in the upper right-hand corner of Alaska voter registration cards. The locator will give the location and address of the polling place that matches the identification given.

The Mat-Su Borough has several ways to help voters identify polling places as well. Voters can double-check their polling place precisely by visiting the borough Web site at www.co.mat-su.ak.us and clicking on Election Information on the left-hand side of the screen, then by clicking on Assembly Districts and Voting Precincts - Inset for core area residents or Assembly Districts and Voting Precincts - Boroughwide for residents in outlying areas. By using the magnify function, site visitors should be able to enlarge the map to show individual streets.

"It takes a number of clicks to get it [large enough] to read it," Borough Clerk Sandra Dillon said.

If voters want to find the location of the polling places, Dillon said, maps are available with that information as well. On the Election Information Web page, the Important Notices button will take viewers to a new page, and by choosing Polling Places and Precincts, a list of precincts will appear. The address of each precinct is a link that, if clicked, will show a map of that polling location.

For those who would rather not use the Internet to find their voting location, the borough clerks' office can help. Borough residents who call the clerks' office at 745-9683 can get assistance locating their proper polling place. And maps are available, Dillon said, although the crunch of elections means there is a wait time of about two days for the maps.

"In the future, we will have maps printed," Dillon said. "Once the election is over and we can start building that stock up, there will be no turnaround time."

Perhaps the most important tool in helping people find their polling place during the upcoming municipal election will be the nearly 150 members of the public who volunteer year after year to be election officials.

The officials, Dillon said, will all go through half-day training classes this week, the start of what, for most, will be 20 to 25 hours of volunteer work. In previous years, they received between $7.50 and $8 as compensation for their time, depending on their level of involvement. Thanks to a $2 raise proposed by Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer and approved by the Alaska Legislature, election officials will go home with a little more in their pockets as a reward for their efforts -- jobs that most election officials readily say they take because of their belief in the process, not because of a desire for money.

Dillon recognized the need for the raise and applauded her volunteers for their dedication.

"The election couldn't

happen without their help," Dillon said. "They are a key foundation for making the election happen for the

public."