Food is one of the few issues that touches every household, every community, and every region of Alaska, and crosses every political line. And the food that feeds Alaska depends on decisions made by the people we elect.
Learn where candidates stand, and make a plan to vote.
Not sure if you’re registered to vote? It’s easy to check.
The deadline to register to vote in the General Election is October 4, 2026. Registering to vote is easy. Do it today.
Need to vote early or by mail? You’ll have to request an absentee ballot. Find out how.
If you’re voting in person, where will you vote? Find your polling location and make a plan.
The Alaska Food Policy Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We do not endorse specific candidates or political parties.
Get Ready to VoteCandidate SurveyPartnersWhy It MattersUpcoming ElectionsTimelineAlaska Food Systems 101
Let’s Get Ready To Vote
Through elections, Alaskans are chosen to lead on policy and budget development for the State of Alaska as our representatives in the Legislature, and at the federal level in Congress. At the Alaska Food Policy Council, we believe in strong civic engagement, knowledge sharing, and relationship building to help strengthen Alaska’s food systems! We are a nonpartisan organization, and we don’t endorse any candidates. But we do want to provide you with voting information and resources as much as possible so you can make an informed decision and don’t forget to vote!!
Am I Registered to Vote?
To be able to vote in the general election, you must be registered to vote by October 4. Check your voter registration status here. Need to register? It’s incredibly easy – do it now here.
*deadlines for registration always fall on a Sunday, 30th day prior to the election!
So what’s on the 2026 general election ballot?
First: What District Do I Live In?
Your ballot and the races you can vote in will be determined by where your voter registration address – where you live! You can use this interactive map from Alaska Legislative Affairs to find your address and learn your Senate and House Districts. Senate Districts are identified by letters (A through T) and House Districts are identified by numbers (1 through 40).
View a Sample Ballot Based on Your District
Sample ballots will be posted on the Alaska Division of Elections webpage at this link. Importantly, ballots are listed by district. Find out what district you’re in to view the right ballot. Reminder: these are only sample ballots so you can preview what you’ll see on election day. When you vote, the Division of Elections will issue the correct ballot for you corresponding to your district.
How Does Ranked Choice Voting Work?
Alaska uses a Ranked Choice Voting system. Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Only the top four candidates who received the greatest number of votes for any office in the primary will appear on the general election ballot. There will still be a space for write-in candidates except for Presidential races. For a candidate to win, they must receive a majority (50% + 1) of total votes cast. If no candidate receives a majority of 1st choice votes in the 1st round of counting, more rounds of counting continue until a candidate reaches a majority. Your vote will only count toward your highest ranked candidate in that race who has not been eliminated. If your top choice candidate is eliminated, your vote will then count toward your next highest ranked candidate.
Visit the Alaska Division of Elections’ website to learn more about Ranked Choice Voting.
AK Food Vote Candidate Questionnaire
Learn where candidates stand.
AFPC and our AK Food Vote partners are conducting a candidate survey to help you understand candidates’ positions and priorities around food policy in Alaska.
We’ve sent this survey to every candidate running for office in Alaska. We’ll be posting their responses, word for word, to this webpage.
Here are the questions we’re asking candidates:
- Has food insecurity, in any form, ever touched your life, your family, or your community? How has that experience — or the absence of it — shaped how you think about hunger in Alaska?
- What food-related challenges are people in your district—or across Alaska—facing most right now? What have been recent bright spots? What have you seen or heard from people that tells you so?
- When a family in Alaska is struggling to put food on the table, what do you believe are the most common underlying reasons — and what role, if any, should state government play in addressing them?
- Around 130,000 students are enrolled in Alaska’s public schools. Alaska provides no dedicated state funding for school nutrition or local food purchasing by schools. What role, if any, should the state play in funding school meals and getting Alaska-grown and Alaska-caught foods into schools?
- Food touches many areas of state policy, including agriculture, fisheries, subsistence, transportation, public health, education, and the budget. Where do you see the most urgent need for state action on food systems, and what specifically would you do about it?
- What, if anything, should the State do to make sure future generations of Alaskans can still grow, catch, and harvest food here — including having access to the lands and waters that make that possible?
- What’s your favorite local food?
As nonpartisan organizations, we won’t be favoring any candidate over any other – we are just here to help you learn where candidates stand.
2026 AK Food Vote Partners
Local, State & Federal Elections – Why Does It Matter?
Over the next few months, we’re going to be focusing on statewide elections at AFPC, and after the primaries, we will also include the federal congressional race. There are also local elections happening – these are also incredibly important in setting the laws, policies, and dollars that influence our food systems.
Local Elections
Local elections are for municipal city or borough seats – these could be council, assembly, mayor, school board, service area board, or other local elected offices. Most Alaskan municipalities hold their elections on the first Tuesday in October. There are a few exceptions, like Anchorage (April) and Valdez (May). Different types of municipalities (i.e. first class, second class, home rule) have different powers or authorities. We won’t be highlighting local elections at AFPC, but that doesn’t mean those races aren’t important for your community and the statewide food system!
Examples of food systems decisions and influence by local officials: zoning laws for farm activities and food businesses, land use planning, cooperation and partnership in community initiatives, school nutrition capacity and procurement, food access partnerships and support, emergency planning
Statewide Elections
The Alaska Legislature has two bodies – the Senate and the House. Together, they set the laws of the state and the budget for all state spending (in partnership with the Governor, who can veto actions of the Legislature). The Alaska Senate has 20 members. They have four-year terms, with half of the seats up for election every two years. The Alaska House of Representatives has 40 members who serve two-year terms; every other year, all seats are up for election.
Examples of food systems decisions and influence by statewide officials: laws around implementation of federal programs like SNAP and child nutrition programs, staffing and funding of agriculture initiatives including the agricultural revolving loan fund, Alaska Grown marketing programs, funding for agricultural research at the University and state, subsidies and other incentives to support marketing and food and farm business development, laws and funding around local procurement preferences, emergency planning, and infrastructure investments.
Federal Elections
Alaska has two Senators and one Representative in Congress. US Senators serve six-year terms. Every two-years, a third of the Senate seats are up for election. Neither of Alaska’s Senator seats (currently held by Sen. Lisa Murkowski & Sen. Dan Sullivan) are up for election in 2024. Members of the US House of Representative are elected to two-year terms, and all seats are up for election every two-years. Alaska’s Representative seat, currently held by Mary Peltola, is up for election this year. There are 12 people running for this seat (including Peltola), and the top four vote getters in the primary election will move on to the general election. Following the primary election, AFPC will engage the candidates in the general election to help inform and educate voters.
Examples of food systems decisions and influence by federal officials: authorization and funding of nutrition, agriculture, and transportation programs like SNAP, USDA marketing programs, crop insurance and farm loan programs, and others in the Farm Bill, infrastructure funding, authorization and funding of child nutrition programs including school lunch programs and WIC, support of USPS Bypass mail and FAA weather stations.
The Alaska Food Policy Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We do not endorse specific candidates or political parties.
Upcoming Elections
General Election
Absentee in person voting, Early Voting, and Special Needs Voting for the general election starts on October 19, and Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
In Alaska, we use ranked-choice voting – you select your top four candidates in order of preference. A few tips for ranked choice voting from the Division of Elections:
- One vote per person in a race – don’t rank a candidate more than once/for more than one choice!
- You don’t have to rank all of the candidates
Sample ballots will be available on this page fifty days before the election.
The Alaska Food Policy Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We do not endorse specific candidates or political parties.
Important Dates
Alaska Food Systems 101
We created this page with partners to provide a concise, informative overview of key issues and facts about Alaska’s food system, helping stakeholders understand the challenges and opportunities for improving food security, production, and infrastructure in the state.
The Alaska Food Policy Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We do not endorse specific candidates or political parties.