Update from Alaska

Voters in Anchorage went to their polls in droves on Tuesday, causing a shortage of ballots and other issues during the election. As of now, Proposition 5, which would extend nondiscrimination protections in employment, housing and public accommodations to cover LGBT people is clearly lagging in the polls, but there are still many uncounted and contested ballots.

It is believed that an e-mail sent out by the No on 5 campaign which erroneously told Anchorage residents that they could register to vote at the polls (registration was required 30 days before the election) caused some of the issues around contested ballots and led to the ballot shortage. The city attorney is currently assessing the effect of the ballot shortage on the election.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund provided staff and financial support to One Anchorage, the locally-driven, grassroots campaign that worked to put the nondiscrimination measure on the ballot.

In a statement yesterday, One Anchorage expressed thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who helped in the effort around Proposition 5:

While we are disappointed at the interim election results, we could not be prouder of the honest campaign we ran. Since the beginning of One Anchorage, we have been on the right side of history.

You can read more about the assessment of the election here and on Bent Alaska. We will continue to keep you posted with updates on the final result from Anchorage.