Challenges of mail delivery in rural Alaska prevented some in-person absentee ballots from being counted in primaries

In the small southwest village of Naknek, Alaska, Sallyann Hughes sent an in-person absentee ballot 13 days before last month’s primary election. She then received a letter saying her ballot had not arrived in time.

Hughes' absentee ballot was one of 75 cast by rural voters in western Alaska that “arrived too late to be counted in last month’s primary election,” Becky Bohrer reports for The Associated Press.

  

The state accepts absentee votes postmarked by Election Day up to 10 days after the election, but that delay isn’t always enough. Many Alaskan communities aren’t connected to main road systems, and they often have to wait for air travel to transport their ballots.

"The Alaska Division of Elections blamed a 'mail delivery delay’ that affected voters in seven communities, with Kotzebue, Igiugig and Naknek combining for 62 of the ballots," Bohrer reports. "But a spokesperson did not provide more details on the nature of the delay. Absentee in-person ballots are sent to regional offices — in this case, Nome — for review."

The U.S. Postal Service finalized a rule in 2025 stating that postmarks don’t necessarily reflect the date the agency first took hold of a piece of mail, but the day it was handled in a processing center. A spokesperson said any number of factors could delay mail.

Native American voter advocacy group, Get Out the Native Vote, said the delayed ballots "represent a measurable loss in participation," contributing to voter apathy, or the perception that one’s vote doesn’t matter. The group supports a decision made by the Division of Elections to reroute western Alaskan absentee ballots from Nome to Anchorage, the state’s largest city.