Keeping Alaska’s voter rolls clean: How registrations stay current

Have you ever wondered how Alaska keeps track of who can vote? With over 500,000 registered voters in our state, keeping voter rolls accurate is a big job. Understanding this process helps you stay informed about your voting rights.

Alaska uses a process called “list maintenance” to keep voter rolls current and accurate. Think of it like cleaning out your email contacts. Just as you might remove old addresses that bounce back, Alaska removes voters who have moved away, died, or asked to be taken off the rolls.

The process follows strict rules set by state law. Alaska’s system is actually stricter than federal requirements, making it harder to remove someone from voter rolls. This protects your right to vote while ensuring accuracy.

Here’s how it works. Every year, Alaska sends notices to voters who haven’t voted or contacted the elections office for four years. If you get this notice, don’t panic. You stay registered unless you ask to be removed.

The real action happens when mail comes back as undeliverable. If your first notice bounces back, Alaska sends a second notice using forwarding mail service. You then have 45 days to respond. If you don’t respond, your registration becomes “inactive”. But you still are not completely removed yet.

Inactive voters can’t vote regular ballots but can still vote using questioned ballots that get reviewed later. Alaska only removes inactive voters completely after they miss two more general elections without voting or contacting the elections office. This entire process takes at least eight years from start to finish.

Looking at the numbers tells an interesting story. Since 2015, the number of voters removed each year has changed quite a bit. In 2015, Alaska removed about 14,893 inactive voters. The number jumped to 23,645 in 2016, then dropped to 16,458 in 2017. Recent years show around 15,000 to 20,000 removals annually, with 19,857 removed in 2025. In 2002, the state annulled 72,720 voter registrations, which was the largest in state history.

Alaska also removes voters immediately when they die, get convicted of certain felonies, register in another state, or ask to be removed. In 2024, Elections removed 10,572 voters who were deceased, 5,830 voters who asked to be removed, 2,501 for moving out of jurisdiction, and 1,888 people convicted of a disqualifying crime. Combined with 28,126 removed by list maintenance, the state removed 48,917 voters from the rolls.

These changes happen for several reasons. Population shifts, military deployments, and people moving for jobs all affect the numbers. The Mat-Su Borough, with its growing population and military presence at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson nearby, sees many of these changes.

Why are Alaska’s voter rolls so large? Several factors contribute. People applying for Permanent Fund Dividends automatically get registered unless they opt out. You can also register when getting a driver’s license. Military members and overseas voters can stay registered even if they don’t plan to return. Plus, Alaska residents can live elsewhere temporarily and still vote here if they plan to return.

The division assumes you live where you say you live unless you tell them in writing that you’ve moved. This protects your voting rights but can lead to larger voter rolls.

Despite having many registered voters, Alaska’s elections division reports no evidence that this has caused voter fraud affecting any election results.

If removed, a resident must re-register to vote if they want to vote. Your previous registration cannot be “restored” because the removal was a complete deletion from the voter rolls.

If you want to check your registration status or learn more, visit the Alaska Division of Elections website. They provide detailed statistics about voter registration and list maintenance. You can also contact them directly if you have questions about your own registration.

Christian M. Hartley is a 40-year Alaskan resident with over 25 years of public safety experience and public service. He runs a freelance business, Big Lake Writer, from home in Big Lake that he shares with his wife of 19 years and their three teenage sons.