Most MEA members must vote online starting this year

What you need to know:

• The annual MEA board election is moving to primarily online voting this year, with paper ballots only available by prior request.
• The MEA board makes decisions about how the utility operates, including major projects and proposing electricity rates for Mat-Su and Eagle River. Voting for one at-large seat and the seat representing Eagle River runs April 3–27 via the utility’s SmartHub system or in person April 28 at MEA’s annual meeting.
• MEA officials worry members may not realize they must vote online instead of using a mailed ballot.

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An annual election for board members who help set electricity rates in Mat-Su is moving to online voting as its default ballot method.

Voting for one of Matanuska Electric Association’s three at-large positions and the seat representing Eagle River is available from April 3 to 27 via members’ SmartHub accounts, MEA officials said. 

MEA members can also vote in person at the co-op’s annual meeting April 28. Paper mail ballot requests closed March 13 and are no longer available.

Members who vote in the election will be entered into a contest to win free electricity for a year.

Officials said they are worried this year’s switch to primarily online voting will keep some members from participating in the annual election because they may not know they need to seek out the voting system instead of waiting for a ballot by mail.

“The concern is that people are going to assume, ‘Hey, I should be getting a ballot in the mail from MEA,’ and then they're not going to get one,” said Jennifer Castro, a spokesperson for MEA. “People can vote or not — that’s their choice. But we just want to make sure that they know how they can vote.”

(MEA is a Mat-Su Sentinel sponsor.)

Like other electric utilities across Alaska, MEA is a co-op owned by the people who buy its power. MEA’s election shapes who sits on the utility’s seven-member board of directors, a group with the power to green-light new projects and propose electricity rates that are ultimately approved by a state regulatory commission.

Online voting isn’t new for MEA, but the current election is the first in which MEA mailed a paper ballot only to account holders who specifically requested one, Castro said. In past years, members received a ballot in the mail by default, with the option to vote online instead.

MEA’s member-led election committee approved the shift to online-first voting as a way to save money, Castro said. Each election costs about $140,000 in printing and postage to send about 50,000 packets by mail, she said. They notified users of the update via advertising and notices included in recent bills, she said.

MEA typically sees between 9% and 12% voter turnout, Castro said. Last year’s election marked a recent high at 13%, with about half of those ballots cast electronically.

Castro said her team expects about a 2% dip in voters this year tied to the switch, a number based on a drop seen by Golden Valley Electric Association and Chugach Electric Association when they switched to digital-first voting.

MEA board members include representatives from Eagle River, Susitna West, Matanuska, and Susitna East, plus three at-large seats. Terms are capped at four years each, with a limit of three consecutive terms. Past board members must take a two-year break before they can run again.

This year’s race includes three candidates running for an at-large seat and three candidates running for the Eagle River seat. Voters will also weigh in on a bylaw change that would let the board sidestep a member ballot process and allow a direct appointment when only one candidate registers to run for a seat.

An online candidate forum is scheduled for Thursday and includes time for public comment. A voter guide is available on the MEA website.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com