Alaska Administrative Code › Title 3 - Commerce, Community, and Economic Development › Part 7 - Regulatory Commission of Alaska › Chapter 49 - Deregulation › Article 1 - Deregulation Ballot: Election Procedure › 3 AAC 49.040 - Voting

Current through May 31, 2024
(a) A paper ballot may be marked with pen or
				  pencil. A voter may mark his or her ballot only by the use of crossmarks, "X"
				  marks, diagonal, horizontal or vertical marks, solid marks, stars, circles,
				  asterisks, checks or plus signs that are clearly placed in the square or space
				  opposite the choice or alternative the voter desires to designate with respect
				  to the deregulation question. If a punchcard ballot is used and provision is
				  made for punching out or otherwise removing the paper square or circle opposite
				  the choice the voter desires to make, the paper square or circle must be
				  removed in a manner that clearly indicates the voter's choice and so that the
				  ballot may be tabulated either by hand or by mechanical means. If the punchcard
				  ballot does not provide for removal of a paper square or circle, that ballot
				  may be marked with pen or pencil as provided in this subsection. The mark
				  specified in this subsection will be counted only if it is substantially inside
				  the square or space provided, or touching the square or space, so that the mark
				  indicates clearly that the voter intended the particular square or space to be
				  designated. Improper marks on the ballot will not be counted. The rules set out
				  in this section are mandatory and there will be no exceptions to them. A ballot
				  may not be counted unless marked in compliance with these rules.
(b) If a voter improperly marks or otherwise
				  damages his or her ballot, the voter may return the erroneously marked or
				  damaged ballot to the utility or the cooperative and obtain another ballot. If
				  the utility or the cooperative no longer has extra ballots, the voter may
				  return the erroneously marked or damaged ballot to the commission and obtain
				  another ballot. The utility, the cooperative, or the commission, as the case
				  may be, shall record and certify the number of erroneously marked or damaged
				  ballots, and these ballots must be destroyed without examination. The utility
				  or the cooperative shall report that certification to the commission, and that
				  certification whether by the utility, cooperative, or the commission, will
				  become part of the commission's certification of the election results under
				  3 AAC 49.050(f).
(c) The utility subscriber or cooperative
				  member is entitled to cast a secret ballot in an election conducted under
				  AS
				  42.05.712. When the voter has completed
				  marking the ballot, the marked ballot initially must be placed in a small
				  envelope which the utility or cooperative is to provide. The only printing or
				  text permitted on this small envelope may indicate that this is the envelope in
				  which the marked ballot is to be placed before mailing it in the larger
				  return-addressed envelope. The utility or cooperative also shall provide a
				  larger envelope in which the small envelope containing the marked ballot must
				  be enclosed. If two or more elections are being held at the same time, the
				  commission will, in its discretion, require the utility or cooperative to use a
				  larger envelope of a distinctive color other than white. The larger envelope
				  must be addressed to the commission (at an address the commission designates)
				  with pre-paid postage as prescribed in
				  AS
				  42.05.712(d). The front of
				  the larger envelope also must identify the utility or cooperative to which it
				  applies. That identification must be printed in substantially the following
				  form: The utility's or cooperative's name followed by the phrase, "Election
				  Ballot (AS 45.02.712)." A voter's
				  certificate, including spaces for the voter's signature, the voter's name
				  (either printed or typewritten), the voter's account or membership number, the
				  voter's mailing address, and the date of signing, must be printed on the
				  reverse side of the envelope. If the subscriber or member is eligible to cast
				  more than one ballot under
				  3 AAC 49.020(c), each ballot must be
				  mailed in a separate small envelope and enclosed in a separate large envelope
				  containing the voter's certificate as prescribed in this subsection.
Authority:
AS
						42.05.151(a)
AS
						42.05.712