It’s now legal to sell alcohol during voting hours in Unalaska, thanks to a change in state law. The Alaska State Legislature repealed a ban on liquor sales while polls are open, making this the first general election with the new policy in place.
Unalaska City Clerk Estkarlen Magdaong said bars and restaurants on the island don’t have to wait until polls close to serve alcohol today.
“It’ll be just like any other Tuesday,” she said.
An Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office (AMCO) representative confirmed the ban was repealed in 2022 during a rewrite of Title 4, which dictates alcohol law in Alaska. The changes went into effect Jan. 1 of this year.
Cities could create their own Election Day alcohol policies while the state ban was in effect, but according to Magdaong, Unalaska never did. Still, the repeal was a surprise for many.
During Unalaska’s municipal election in October, restaurants and a liquor store owned by the seafood processor UniSea followed the old state statute, not knowing that it was repealed.
Haden Mullennix is the food and beverage manager at UniSea’s Grand Aleutian Hotel. He said they didn’t serve any alcohol during the municipal election until polls closed, but could have been open.
Now that they're aware of the change, Mullennix said it means better service for customers.
“We’re very excited to be able to do full business on election days,” he said.
Magdaong said she notified Unalaska businesses that serve alcohol about the changes.
Maggie Nelson contributed reporting to this story.
