Anchorage Election Commission Meeting Summary - January 16, 2026

The Anchorage Election Commission convened on January 16, 2026, to address old business regarding ballot rejection trends and public outreach strategies, followed by new business including election updates, manual revisions, and officer elections. The meeting featured a significant discussion on using a new signature database to reduce rejections due to signature mismatches and exploring code changes to allow voters to update signatures in person. Commissioners unanimously agreed to re-elect leadership and adjust the meeting calendar to accommodate an annual risk-limiting audit.

Consent Calendar

• No items were explicitly processed on a consent calendar; the motion to adopt the business of the meeting and the minutes were addressed individually via standard motion and vote procedures.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public comments: The Chair announced that no members of the public were present online or in person to offer testimony during the scheduled public comment period.

Discussion Items

Signature Verification and Ballot Rejections

• Commissioner Woodyman noted that the department rejects 301 ballots for "no signature match" reasons in 2025, compared to 269 for voter ID issues and 269 in 2024 for voter ID.
• Election Administrator Liz Edwards stated that the implementation of a new signature database has reduced signature match rejections from 692 (2022) and 623 (2023) to 386 in 2025. She attributed this to retaining wet signatures on ballots rather than relying solely on DMV signatures.
• Commissioner Deal expressed concern regarding the reliability of electronic pads versus pen-on-paper signatures, suggesting the commission should prioritize high-quality signature sources.
• Municipal Clerk Jamie Hines proposed a code change to allow voters to visit the election center to update their signatures in person, which would supplement the existing five signatures on file. She noted this would require a change to current municipal code, which mandates using signatures from the Division of Elections.
• Commissioner Woodyman voiced full support for the proposed code change and an associated advertising campaign, stating, "anything we can do to get rid of some of these numbers anybody else have any comments," and suggested advocating for this with the Assembly.

Advertising and Public Education Strategy

• Election Administrator Edwards reported on the updated "Election Update," which includes a communications component in the new Assistant position. She outlined a strategy including bus advertisements on main routes, podcast placements, streaming services, and increased radio spots to reach voters who do not read newspapers.
• Commissioner Deal proposed that Commission Commissioners act as spokespeople for the department to provide media interviews. Commissioner Woodyman expressed strong support for this collaborative approach, stating, "if they had the same talking points as they had that they don't mind sharing... this can't be anything but a help."
• Commissioner Deal raised an ethical concern regarding commissioners speaking to the press, asking if the ethics code prohibits this. Commissioner Woodyman clarified that the ethics code primarily concerns conflicts of interest regarding specific matters, suggesting commissioners can speak so long as they do not discuss pending enforcement decisions.
• Commissioner Deal inquired about the voter turnout statistics. Election Administrator Edwards noted that turnout has been holding steady between the highs of 2018/2020 and the low of 2022, with 2025 expected to be within that range.

Manual Revisions

• Municipal Clerk Jamie Hines presented a revised Commission Manual updated since 2022. Revisions included correcting code citations (AMC 2205 B2 corrected to V10 on page 5; wrong citation on page 8 corrected to 28-85010B) and updating language regarding prohibited political activity.
• Municipal Clerk Hines highlighted a grammatical redundancy on page 9 ("place all... shall be placed") regarding rejected ballots and recommended deleting the phrase "shall be placed."
• The Commission moved to review the revised manual at the next meeting to finalize changes before the canvass.

Officer Elections

• Commissioner Deal opened nominations for Chair. Commissioner Woodyman self-nominated and was re-elected unopposed for a second term.
• Commissioner Deal nominated Commissioner Woodyman for Vice Chair (note: transcript indicates "Lauren" was nominated for Vice Chair, but context and standard order suggest Commissioner Deal may have been misidentified or Lauren Woodyman nominated for Chair and Commissioner Deal nominated for Vice Chair; however, transcript explicitly says: "I'd like to nominate Lauren" for Vice Chair, then "Lauren" says she's willing. Correction based on strict transcript: The Chair nominates Lauren for Vice Chair. Lauren accepts. The Chair then says "Mr. Lehman is again elected as vice chair" which contradicts the nomination of Lauren. Re-analysis of Transcript for Accuracy:

1. Chair: "Is the code allow to the code allow the current chair to turn as a term?" -> Lauren (Chair) re-elected.
2. Chair (Lauren? No, Chair was Lauren? Wait, transcript starts: "I'm gonna call this meeting to order. My privilege to be the chair... I'm Lauren Woodyman." -> Lauren is Chair.
3. Chair (Lauren) nominations for Chair: Mr. Deal nominates Lauren? No, Chair asks for nominees. "Are there any other nominations... Mr. Lehman, did you have a different nomination?" -> No other nominees.
4. Chair (Lauren) declares herself elected? No, Chair says "Katie is elected"? Wait, transcript says "Katie is elected as chair". This is a discrepancy. The transcript says at the start "I'm Lauren Woodyman" as Chair. Later says "Katie is elected as chair". Then later "Mr. Lehman is again elected as vice chair". Discrepancy Note: The transcript explicitly states at the start that Lauren Woodyman is the Chair. However, during the election vote, the text records the Chair declaring Katie as the new Chair. This is a direct contradiction in the source text. Additionally, the vice chair election nomination asks for "Lauren" but the vote results state "Mr. Lehman" (likely Ralph Deal or DeWare, transcript names are messy: "Lauren", "Ralph Deal", "Commissioner DeWare", "Commissioner E".) Refined Summary of Election: The Chair (identified at start as Lauren Woodyman) oversaw the election. A motion was passed to elect a Chair. The transcript records the declaration: "Katie is elected as chair for another year," despite the Chair at the start being Lauren. For Vice Chair, the Chair (Lauren) nominated "Lauren" (likely a typo for another person or self-nomination conflict) but the record states "Mr. Lehman is again elected as vice chair." Decision: I must note the discrepancy. I will summarize the recorded outcome "Katie" for Chair and "Mr. Lehman" for Vice Chair, but add a note about the speaker name inconsistency. Re-reading carefully:

• Start: "I'm Lauren Woodyman... chair"
• End of meeting: "Katie is elected as chair"
• End of meeting: "Mr. Lehman is again elected as vice chair"
• Earlier: "Commissioner DeWare" mentioned.
• Earlier: "Commissioner E" joins.
• The names in the transcript appear inconsistent or contain transcriber errors (e.g., "Lehman" vs "Deal" or "DeWare"). Strict adherence: I will report the outcome as stated in the conclusion: Katie elected Chair, Mr. Lehman elected Vice Chair, while noting the discrepancy with the opening statements.

Election Calendar

• The Commission discussed the 2026 election calendar. Election Administrator Edwards proposed moving the April 23rd meeting to the Thursday before the scheduled Friday to allow a risk-limiting audit.
• Commissioner Deal raised a scheduling conflict (11:30 AM appointment) but confirmed he could adjust his schedule. The commission agreed to the April 23rd date, noting it aligns with the third Friday after Election Day (April 24th) and the certification Tuesday (April 28th).

Key Outcomes

• Re-elections: The Chair declared Katie re-elected as Chair and Mr. Lehman re-elected as Vice Chair (Note: Source text contains conflicting names for commissioners; the opening identifies Lauren Woodyman as Chair, but the outcome records Katie and Lehman).
• Code Change Proposal: The Commission voted to add the proposal for an in-person signature update process to their future agenda and will draft a code change proposal to advocate for with the Assembly, potentially for July implementation.
• Manual Review: The motion to review the revised Election Commission Manual at the next meeting (February/March) was seconded and passed.
• Advertising Strategy: The Commission agreed to provide Commissioners as spokespeople for media interviews to reinforce election education, contingent on using consistent talking points.
• Calendar Update: The April 23, 2026 meeting date was confirmed to facilitate a risk-limiting audit before certification on April 28.
• Postmark Warning: The Commission noted the USPS change regarding manual postmarks and reaffirmed the need to educate voters to request manual postmarks at post offices or use drop boxes.
• Voter ID Rejection Trend: 301 ballots were rejected in 2025 for voter ID issues (taking selfies), an increase from 269 in 2024, prompting continued focus on voter education regarding proper ID presentation.

Accuracy Note: The meeting transcript contains significant inconsistencies regarding speaker names (e.g., opening identifies Lauren Woodyman as Chair, but the outcome declares Katie elected Chair; nomination for Vice Chair mentions "Lauren" but result names "Mr. Lehman"). The summary reflects the explicit outcomes stated in the text but flags these discrepancies as required by the instructions.