Both sides of the political divide are scrambling to register as many voters as possible for the upcoming Nov. 5 election.

In order to vote in the general election, Alaskans need to be registered to vote by Oct. 6 – or 30 days before the election. The one exception is for voting for president or vice president of the United States. In that limited case, Alaska law allows for same-day voter registration.

With a number of critical races and issues on the ballot – including contests for the presidency, U.S. Congress and 50 state legislative races – voter turnout will be key in a slew of close campaigns.

Alaskans will also vote on Proposition 2, which would do away with the complicated and highly controversial ranked-choice voting system, and return Alaska to its traditional party primaries and historic voting practices. Given that ranked-choice was narrowly approved – and widely misunderstood – by voters in 2020, the vote to repeal is expected to be very close.

Checking or updating one’s voter registration status is easy, and only takes a few seconds. Click here to check one’s voter status, or that of friends and family members.

To register to vote or update voter registration, Alaskans can use the Online Voter Registration System. This requires a valid Alaska driver’s license or state ID card. Information provided when registering must match the information contained in the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records. Those who do not have a valid Alaska driver’s license or state ID (or information cannot be validated), may select to register using a paper registration form.

Once the voter registration information has been submitted, the Alaska Division of Elections will contact applicants. No one is officially registered to vote until their application is approved.

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