With the Juneau municipal elections now underway, the borough clerk issued a Sept. 19 reminder, telling voters they no longer need a witness verification signature when casting local ballots in the Oct.1 municipal election.
“A witness signature is not required to vote in CBJ municipal elections,” the clerk’s office stated. “Voters only need to provide their own signature and a personal identifier.”
While witness verification for mail-in ballots was required in the past to ensure the legal identity of absentee voters, the Juneau Assembly did away with these safeguards back in 2021.
The updated election code now requires voters to provide just one of the following personal identifiers – voter registration ID number, the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number, the voter’s date of birth, or the voter’s Alaska driver’s license number. They must also provide their personal signature.
Witness verification is still required, however, for statewide elections, and this system is used in many local and state elections across the nation. Supporters of witness verification maintain that it provides another layer of protection in ensuring the integrity of election by holding the witnesses legally responsible for accurately verifying the identity of the mail-in voter. Opponents claim that it complicates the election process for those who may have a difficult time finding anyone who can verify their identity.
