The left’s firm grip on local Juneau politics does not appear to be waning.

According to unofficial election night returns, hard-left candidates are dominating the mail-in-only election, with Planned Parenthood-backed school board candidate David Noon holding a slight advantage over his fellow left-winger Britteny Cioni-Haywood. Likewise, Planned Parenthood’s preferred Juneau Assembly candidates – Paul Kelly and Mila Cosgrove were easily elected, while Joyce Niven enjoys a sizable lead over fellow leftist Karla Hart.

More than 80% of voters chose to extend the current 3% sales tax for another three years, while nearly 57% voted to institute a new 1% seasonal sales tax.

The only pro-tax ballot measure that trails is a proposition to expand the mill rate from 9 mills to 12 mills. As of election night, that was losing 48% to 51.9%.

These results could change in the coming days as mail-in ballots continue to trickle in.

Juneau elections are mail-in-only. The municipality sent out 27,768 ballots on Sept. 18, of which 5,962 have been returned. All ballots had to be postmarked by Oct. 6, but do not have to arrive until Oct. 19. Official results will be certified on Oct. 20. Certification may be delayed by up to three days, however, if election officials deem it necessary. 

Based on previous elections, the municipal clerk’s office says the current preliminary results represent approximately 55-60% of the projected total ballot count. 

A second set of unofficial results will be posted on Friday, October 9, with additional updates to follow, as needed, until certification.

Additionally, as part of the review process, cure letters are being sent to voters to ensure any missing information or signature remedies are addressed so those ballots can be approved for counting. Voters are encouraged to watch their mail and respond as soon as they receive a cure letter to make sure their ballot can be counted.

Click here to see the unofficial results.

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