Alaska Ballot Proposition 3, Voter Approval Requirement for Capital Relocation Costs Initiative (1978)
| Alaska Ballot Proposition 3 | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Election date |
|
| Topic Ballot measure process and State capitals |
|
| Status |
|
| Type Indirect initiated state statute |
Origin |
Alaska Ballot Proposition 3 was on the ballot as an indirect initiated state statute in Alaska on November 7, 1978. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported requiring all costs of capital relocation, including personnel and infrastructure, to be determined and approved by voters prior to spending state funds. |
A "no" vote opposed requiring all costs of capital relocation, including personnel and infrastructure, to be determined and approved by voters prior to spending state funds. |
Election results
|
Alaska Ballot Proposition 3 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
69,414 | 55.68% | ||
| No | 55,253 | 44.32% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Ballot Proposition 3 was as follows:
| “ | This proposal would require that all costs of the capital relocation be determined. All costs include moving personnel and offices to the relocation site, planning, building, furnishing, using and financing a new capital having facilities equal to those at the current capital and those required by the 1974 capital move initiative, and the social, economic and environmental impact to the present and relocation sites. In addition, it would require that a bond issue including all bondable costs of capital relocation be approved by a majority of voters prior to the expenditure of state money to relocate the capital. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Background
State capitals ballot measures in Alaska
Between 1960 and 2025, nine measures have been on the Alaska ballot that concern the location of the state capital. One additional measure, from 2002, concerned the location of the state legislative sessions.
Of the measures, three (33.3%) were approved, and six (66.6%) were defeated. One of the measures, the 1976 referral, was neither approved nor defeated. In that measure, voters decided between three potential sites for a state capital.
| Year | Measure | Yes vote | No vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Initiative 1, Cook Inlet State Capital Measure | 44.1% | 55.9% |
| 1962 | Initiative 1, State Capital Relocation Measure | 45.1% | 54.9% |
| 1974 | Initiative 1, New State Capital in Western Alaska Initiative | 56.7% | 43.3% |
| 1976 | Capital Relocation Site Selection Measure | N/A | N/A |
| 1978 | Bonding Proposition 10, New State Capital Bond Measure | 26.2% | 73.8% |
| 1978 | Ballot Proposition 3, Voter Approval Requirement for Capital Relocation Costs Initiative | 55.7% | 44.3% |
| 1982 | Measure 8, Relocation of State Capital Advisory Question | 47.1% | 52.9% |
| 1994 | Measure 3, State Capital in Wasilla Initiative | 45.3% | 54.7% |
| 1994 | Measure 5, Voter Approval Requirement for Capital Relocation Bonds Initiative | 77.4% | 22.6% |
| 2002 | Measure 2, Move Legislature to Matanuska-Susitna Borough Initiative | 32.8% | 67.2% |
Locations of proposed Alaskans capitals
Sitka was the capital of the territory of Alaska until 1906, when the capital city changed to Juneau. Between 1960 and 2002, six different locations were proposed as potential capital cities for the State of Alaska.
A 1960 ballot initiative would have moved the capital to the Cook Inlet-Railbelt region, which was described in contemporary news articles as the Anchorage, Alaska area.[1]
In 1976, voters chose between three cities potential cities for the new state capital: Larson Lake, Mount Yenlo, and Willow. Willow won the majority vote with 53.2% of voters selecting the city.
A 1994 ballot initiative would have moved the state capital to Wasilla, Alaska.
In 2002, Alaskan voters decided Measure 2. That measure would not moved the state capital, but it would have moved the location of the state legislative sessions to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. In Alaska, boroughs act as a form of local government and function in the same way that counties do in other states.
State capitals ballot measures by state
- See also: State capitals ballot measures
Of the nine states that have placed measures on the ballot that concern the location of the capital city, Alaskans have seen the most on the ballot. Omitting the 2002 initiative, which would have moved the state's legislative sessions and not the capital city, Alaskans have decided nine ballot measures. Oklahomans, with the next largest amount of ballot measures, have decided five.
| State | Measures on the ballot | Approved by voters | Percentage approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 9 | 4 | 44.4% |
| California | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Colorado | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| Maine | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| North Dakota | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
| Oregon | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| South Dakota | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| Washington | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| Total | 22 | 9 | 40.9% |
Path to the ballot
An indirect initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, a second round of signatures is required to put the initiative on the ballot for voters to decide.
See also
Footnotes
 |
State of Alaska Juneau (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
