Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the provisions of AS 29.05.110,29.05.120, and 29.45.680 an election will be held in the proposed Xunaa Borough on July 15, 2025, to determine:

1. Shall the non-unified home rule Xunaa Borough be incorporated? (Incorporation of the non-unified home rule Xunaa Borough will result in the concurrent dissolution of the existing City of Hoonah.)

    

2. Shall the Xunaa Borough institute a 1% seasonal areawide sales tax and other sales taxes as proposed by exhibit W in the incorporation petition?

    

3. The composition of the borough assembly and school board. If a majority of voters approve the incorporation question above, the Xunaa Borough will be governed by a seven-member borough assembly, including a mayor, elected at large. The school board will have five members, also elected at large.

The election will be conducted by mail on July 15, 2025, and will be under the administration and supervision of the Director of Elections. The proposed non-unified home rule borough is to be named the Xunaa Borough. The boundaries ordered for the proposed borough are those as stated by the Local Boundary Commission in its Decision dated December 20, 2024, and upheld March 20, 2025. 

The offices of Mayor, Borough Assembly Member (seven members, including mayor), and School Board Member (five members) will be voted upon. All offices are elected at large. A candidate for mayor, borough assembly, and school board shall be a qualified voter of the proposed Xunaa Borough and a resident of the area within the proposed Borough for at least one year preceding the election.

Individuals seeking office for mayor, borough assembly, or school board and desiring to have their names appear on the ballot must file nominating petitions in the form prescribed by the Director of Elections. The petitions must include the name and address of the nominee, and a statement of the nominee that the nominee is qualified under the provisions of Alaska Statutes Title 15 and Title 29 for the office that is sought. Petitions must include the signatures and resident addresses of 50 voters in the area of the proposed borough.  AS 29.05.120(b).   

Nominating petitions will be available to candidates beginning April 21, 2025, and may be filed with the Division of Elections beginning April 21, 2025, through May 16, 2025. Signed petitions must be received by the Director of Elections no later than 4:30 p.m. on May 16, 2025. Petitions may be faxed, mailed or delivered in person. Petitions may be mailed to the Division of Elections, P.O. Box 110017, Juneau, AK 99811-0017, or delivered in person to the office located at 240 Main Street, Suite 400, Juneau, Alaska, or faxed to 907-465-3203. The original petition signatures that are mailed or faxed must be postmarked or dated, respectively, by May 16, 2025, and received no later than May 23, 2025.   

Any person who is a qualified voter that has been registered to vote within the proposed Xunaa Borough since March 19, 2025 (30 days before the date of this election order) may vote in this election. AS 29.05.110(b). 

A notice of the election will be mailed to each qualified registered voter on April 21, 2025.  Ballots will be automatically mailed to qualified registered voters on or before June 23, 2025. Voters who will not be at their current mailing address or who do not receive a ballot should contact the Division of Elections.

The election will be conducted in the general manner as prescribed by the Alaska Election Code and will be conducted by mail in accordance with AS 15.20.800, 6 AAC 25.590 and 6 AAC 27.150 - 27.165.  There will be no polling place open for regular in-person voting on Election Day. An Absentee Voting Official will be available for absentee in person voting at the Hoonah City Clerk’s Office and in Elfin Cove, during specified times beginning June 30, 2025, through Election Day, July 15, 2025.  Absentee ballots may also be voted in person at any of the election offices listed below. 

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Dated this18^th of April 2025.                                                        Carol Beecher, Director

                                                                                                Division of Elections