Starting next year, Seward will hold its city elections in November instead of October. The Seward City Council approved the change unanimously Monday after a public hearing. No one from the public testified.
The move puts city races on the same day as the Kenai Peninsula Borough and state elections. Borough voters moved their own election to November last year with Proposition 5.
Council Member Mike Calhoon said turnout is the biggest reason he supports the change. He said city elections usually draw 19 to 21 percent turnout, and that's not ideal for a town of Seward's size with important decisions to make.
City Clerk Kris Peck told the council early voting numbers this fall pushed him toward November. His written report to the council says about 90 people voted early at City Hall on the first day for next Tuesday's state and borough election. That count includes voters from Lowell Point and Bear Creek, outside city limits. The same report says the city's October election drew 10 early voters on its first day.
In a memo to the council, Peck pointed to one downside: paperwork. In years with a state election, voters would sign three separate registers and get three separate ballots: city, borough and state.
The city charter requires a full year of lead time for any election date change. That pushes the first November city election to 2027. The same rule would apply if the council ever wanted to switch back. The council introduced the ordinance earlier this month on its consent agenda.
