Borough certifies Wrangell Medical Center recall vote

The Wrangell Borough Assembly met in special session on Monday, June 25 to certify the June 19 special recall election of eight members of the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors.

Before the election could be certified, however, the canvassing board of Mayor Jeremy Maxand and assembly members Bill Privett and Pam McCloskey reviewed 183 absentee and 25 questioned ballots.

A total of 851 ballots were used in the election, with 627 of those ballots being cast locally. A total of 835 ballots were counted toward the final results of the election, with 16 questioned ballots rejected by the board.

The questioned ballots were rejected for a number of reasons – from voters registered in Wasilla and other communities in Alaska, to voters who were not registered at all in Wrangell.

Maxand explained the purpose of the board looking into questionable ballots.

“The purpose of the canvass board is to not only count absentee ballots, but to determine questionable ballots because some folks may have registered in one place at some point though not here, so we have to catch that. But, it’s good to see they take voting seriously,” Maxand said.

According to Borough Clerk Christie Jamieson, the recall election saw a jump in participation over the November 2011 general election.

“We have 1,591 registered voters for Wrangell, and 835 ballots were counted for the June 19 (special) election,” Jamieson stated in an email to media. “That is a 52 percent voter turnout, which exceeded last year’s election by about 11 percent.”

Certified WMC Recall Results

Mark Robinson – 513/310

Linda Bjorge – 530/292

Jake Harris – 431/391

Delores Norman – 482/338

Jim Nelson – 493/329

Lurine McGee – 489/332

Sylvia Ettefagh – 489/331

Leann Rinehart – 503/315