Keep election dates the same

To the editor,

Proposition B-2 is on the ballot for our October 6 Borough election. B-2 would change the Borough election date from October to November, to correspond to state and federal elections. On the surface, it looks like a simple date change, and we only have to go to the polls once. But, it isn’t simple; the implications of the change are so many and far-reaching that B-2 should be rejected.

Implementation of B-2 would be very difficult. For example, the Borough shares most of the election workers with the state. The Borough Clerk estimated in 2012 that having the election on the same day would require recruiting 152 new election workers to staff the polls in the various precincts. That’s a lot of recruiting, and a question arises in my mind as to whether it would be necessary to increase their pay in order to attract enough workers, and what this might cost? What is the Borough’s capacity to train these folks? Would worker inexperience result in inefficiencies, causing longer wait times at the polls as questions and problems arise and must be resolved in real time?

Since the Borough borrows state-owned ballot-counting machines, would the Borough decide to buy its own machines and at what cost? Or, would the Borough wait until the State finishes counting, and then have election workers feed the ballots into the machines? These questions raise issues of cost, ballot security, potential for mistakes, and delays in getting the results.

Further, there would still be two elections, one Borough and one State/Federal, two lines to wait in, two registers to sign, and two ballots to vote. This doesn’t do much to improve voter convenience, and could foster voter confusion.

Our locally elected representatives make the decisions (either directly, or indirectly through their appointees) that most affect our communities and our daily lives. This includes practically everything the Borough does: roads, capital projects, schools, permits, emergency services, and the list goes on and on. In short, our elected officials determine how our property tax dollars are spent and how Borough property is managed.

If the elections were held on the same date, local issues would be drowned out in the noise of the state/federal elections, and overwhelmed by big money and partisan interests.

Let’s not divert attention from local concerns; let’s keep the election dates as they are now.

John Strasenbugh

Talkeetna