advocacy, advocacy education, get out the vote
Your Food Your Vote 2026: August Get Out the Vote Update
August 29, 2026
The sun is setting earlier, the late-season vegetables are ripening, the berries are out, school is starting, and AFPC has been busy launching our 2026 Get Out the Vote work. We have some exciting updates to share!
First, the Primary Election results are (nearly) in. The Alaska Division of Elections has yet to certify the results, but Friday, August 28 was the last day for absentee ballots to arrive at election offices, and 401 of 403 precincts are reporting.
You can view the Primary results either statewide or by district on the Alaska Division of Elections website. At AFPC, however, we’re less concerned with which candidate or party did well, and more concerned with the fact that Alaskans got out there and voted!
Alaska has a nonpartisan, top four Primary Election system. That means the Primary determines the top four vote-getters that will advance to the General Election, regardless of political affiliation. Which is why, in the Primary, you saw candidates from multiple parties on your ballot and voted for one candidate per race.
Next, the top four candidates in each race advance to the November 3 General Election. The General Election uses the Ranked Choice system, so you’ll be able to rank multiple candidates for each office on your ballot rather than voting for just one.
As a reminder, AFPC is a nonpartisan organization, and we take no positions on candidates or ballot measures. You won’t see us endorsing anyone or pressuring you to vote a certain way. You will see a strong commitment to voter turnout, candidate engagement, and citizen participation across Alaska.
As the focus shifts to the General Election, we want to make sure candidates and voters understand the roles elected officials play in our food systems.
That’s why we just launched a candidate survey focused on helping voters understand the candidates on your ballot and where they stand. This week, we sent our candidate survey to every candidate running for office in Alaska!
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 responses come in, we will be posting them, verbatim, to the AK Food Vote webpage. Together with our partners, we’ll also be sharing them out more widely as we get further into election season. Again, as nonpartisan organizations, we won’t be favoring any candidate over any other – we are just here to help you learn where candidates stand, and get you fired up to vote.
Next steps – Make a plan to vote!
The General Election may not be until November 3, but the deadline to register to vote is just weeks away. Now is the time to make sure you’re registered and request an absentee ballot if you’ll need one.
- Check your voter registration status.
- Register to vote or update your voter information.
- Request an absentee ballot if you know you will not vote in-person on election day (in Alaska, you don’t need to give a reason for not voting in person).
Key dates and deadlines:
Check out our full timeline on AK Food Vote!
- August 31, 2026: Target date for Division of Elections to certify Primary results, and deadline for candidates to withdraw before advancing to the General Election.
- October 4, 2026: Deadline to register to vote or update your voter information.
- October 19, 2026: Early voting begins.
- October 24, 2026: Recommended deadline to request an absentee ballot (the Alaska Division of Elections recommends at least 10 days before the election to allow enough time for delivery).
- November 2, 2026: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot. Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election.
- November 3. 2026: General Election Day. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- November 25, 2026: Target date to certify the General Election results.
Stay Tuned For More From AFPC!
Together with our AK Food Vote partners, we’ll keep serving up information on Alaska’s food systems, the role elected officials play, and most importantly, how to get out there and vote! Do you have questions? Want to get more involved? Reach out to us! Email vote@alaskafoodpolicycouncil.org.
