Proposition A still set for ballot after typo identified

Election Day for Juneau residents is Tuesday; city manager says “the mistake does not impact their vote”

A sample ballot is seen at City Hall on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Jasz Garrett

Juneau Independent

A local attorney reached out to the city attorney’s office on Thursday after identifying a typo in the ballot language for Proposition A, which, if adopted, would renew a temporary 3% areawide sales tax.

“This typo does not affect voters or the implementation of the proposed extension of the existing sales tax,” a press release issued by the city on Friday states.

The question posed on the ballot by Proposition A asks voters to extend the 3% sales tax five years, with the option being yes or no. Approved and renewed by Juneau voters since first adopted in 1983, the 3% temporary sales tax is put before the voters every five years.

While CBJ sales tax code and previous implementation of the 3% temporary sales tax identifies sales tax as including both goods and services, the proposition summary preceding the question to voters is missing the word “services.”

“Shall the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, levy and collect a temporary 3% areawide sales tax on the price of all taxable sales of goods and [services] delivered in the City and Borough, effective July 1, 2027, for a period of five years only, in addition to the 1% permanent areawide sales tax and the 1% temporary areawide sales tax?” an edited summary from the ballot shows the typo.

The word “services” is missing from the ballot proposition summary only. The word  “services” is included in the title of the legislation and all other language in the ballot proposition is consistent with how this tax has been levied since 1983, according to CBJ.

“This is a truly unfortunate typo that should have been caught and corrected during the legislative process, before ballots were printed and distributed last month,” said City Manager Katie Koester in a prepared statement. “To be completely transparent, we wanted to immediately communicate this typo with voters and provide assurance that it does not impact their vote.” 

The individual typo does not affect the question asked of voters, according to CBJ. Proposition A asks voters whether to extend the continually renewed temporary 3% areawide sales tax, which includes goods and  services as defined in CBJ code.

The press release notes voters should answer the question posted in the ballot, which is “should the 3% temporary sales tax continue for the next five years, yes or no.”

After discovery of the typo, CBJ staff reviewed the ballot language process and identified actions to prevent this from happening in the future, the press release states.

Through this evaluation, staff went back to previous elections and discovered that the ballot language for the 2021 renewal of the 3% temporary sales tax included the same typo. Preceding renewal propositions —including the original proposition from 1983 — did not contain the typo. 

The 2021 renewal of the 3% temporary sales tax was implemented in accordance with tax code. If approved, the 2026 renewal's intent is to follow the same implementation.  

It is the intent of the Juneau Assembly to allocate revenues from the temporary 3% areawide sales tax as proposed on the October 2026 ballot as outlined below: 

• 1% to police, fire, street maintenance, snow removal, EMT/ambulance service, parks and recreation, libraries, and other general purposes; 

• 1% to roads, drainage, retaining walls, sidewalks, stairs, and other capital improvement projects; and 

• 1% allocated annually by the Assembly among capital improvements, an emergency budget reserve, and other general public services. 

Juneau's election day is Tuesday, with vote centers at City Hall downtown and the Mendenhall Valley Public Library from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Early voting begins Monday, with City Hall open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the library open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

More information about all three ballot propositions, along with profiles of Assembly and school board candidates, can be found at the Juneau Independent's election guide.

• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.