Article V, Alaska Constitution

Alaska Constitution
Preamble
Articles
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Ordinances
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Amendments

Article V of the Alaska Constitution is entitled Suffrage and Elections. Article V defines the process of voting in the state of Alaska. Within Article V, the qualifications of voters, how citizens can be disqualified to vote, voting methods, where voting booths can be held as well as registration and when elections should occur can be found.

It has five sections and has been amended four times.

Amendments to Article V

• Alaska Residence Requirement to Vote for President (1966)
• Alaska English Eliminated as Voting Requirement (1970)
• Alaska Voting Age Amendment (1970)
• Alaska Residency Requirement for Voting (1972)

Section 1

Text of Section 1: Qualified Voters “ Every citizen of the United States who is at least eighteen years of age, who meets registration residency requirements which may be prescribed by law, and who is qualified to vote under this article, may vote in any state or local election. A voter shall have been, immediately preceding the election, a thirty day resident of the election district in which he seeks to vote, except that for purposes of voting for President and Vice President of the United States other residency requirements may be prescribed by law. Additional voting qualifications may be prescribed by law for bond issue elections of political subdivisions. ”

Amendments

• The Alaska Residence Requirement to Vote for President (1966) ballot question, approved by Alaskan voters in 1966 amended Section 1 of Article V.
• The Alaska English Eliminated as Voting Requirement (1970) ballot question, approved by Alaskan voters in 1970 amended Section 1 of Article V.
• The Alaska Voting Age Amendment (1970) ballot question, approved by Alaskan voters in 1970 amended Section 1 of Article V.
• The Alaska Residency Requirement for Voting (1972) ballot question, approved by Alaskan voters in 1972 amended Section 1 of Article V.

Section 2

	Text of Section 2: Disqualifications “ No person may vote who has been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude unless his civil rights have been restored. No person may vote who has been judicially determined to be of unsound mind unless the disability has been removed. ”

Section 3

	Text of Section 3: Methods of Voting; Election Contests “ Methods of voting, including absentee voting, shall be prescribed by law. Secrecy of voting shall be preserved. The procedure for determining election contests, with right of appeal to the courts, shall be prescribed by law. ”

Section 4

	Text of Section 4: Voting Precincts; Registration “ The legislature may provide a system of permanent registration of voters, and may establish voting precincts within election districts. ”

Section 5

	Text of Section 15 General Elections “ General elections shall be held on the second Tuesday in October of every even-numbered year, but the month and day may be changed by law. ”

Editor's Note. Exercising its authority under this section, the legislature has provided that the date of general elections is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in every even-numbered year. See AS 15.15.020.

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• The Constitution of the State of Alaska
• The Alaska Constitution: A Citizen's Guide
• Creating Alaska: The Constitutional Convention

Additional reading

• Connor, George E. Connor, and Christopher W. Hammons (2008). The Constitutionalism of American States. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press.
• McBeath, Gerald A. (2011). The Alaska State Constitution. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.