Alaska lawmakers fall 2 votes short of overriding Dunleavy's veto of election bill

JUNEAU — The Alaska Legislature narrowly voted to sustain Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a sweeping elections reform bill its supporters say was a decade in the making.

In a 38-22 vote Monday morning, lawmakers fell two votes shy of the 40 votes needed to override the veto. Sen. Bert Stedman, a Sitka Republican, and Rep. Jeremy Bynum, a Ketchikan Republican, backed off their previous support of the bill, flipping the vote in Dunleavy’s favor.

The bill would have made systemic reforms to the state’s election system. This included putting in place a new ballot tracking and curing system, creating a rural liaison position for the Division of Elections and allowing the division to more easily remove voters who have moved from the state from voter rolls, among other provisions.

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat who spearheaded the bill, described it as “built piece by piece by members of both parties from every corner of the state,” drawing outspoken support from minority caucus Republicans such as Rep. Sarah Vance of Homer and Rep. Kevin McCabe of Big Lake.



https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/05/04/alaska-lawmakers-fall-2-votes-short-of-overriding-dunleavys-veto-of-election-bill/