By Therese Lewandowski

Aug. 16 is the next very important date to put on your calendar. And it’s a two-fer. Two elections on one day. It will be the general election for the primary we just finished for the U.S. congressional seat, and it will be the regular primary for all other state elections — governor, our U.S. and state senators and representatives.

Let’s break this down a bit. The general election for the primary held in June will be on one side of the ballot. There you will rank choice the three candidates who made it to the general. On the other side of the ballot will be the regular primary where you will choose one candidate for each seat. One ballot — two elections!

As in the past voters can request an absentee mail-in ballot by going to elections.alaska.gov or call the elections office 907-465-4611. Your deadline to request an absentee mail-in ballot for the Aug. 16 election is Aug. 6.

There are actually four ways to vote! By mail, electronic transmission, special needs, early and in-person. To discover more about all these voting options check out this link https://elections.alaska.gov/Core/AKVoteEarly.php.

Your next to-do is a two-fer but it comes down to this — be informed. Listen to and read candidate forums and visit websites for the three running for the U.S. congressional seat. And, find out more about all the candidates that will be on the general primary ballot. Note, there are 19 state Senate districts and 40 state House districts. Where can you find which one you are in? You guessed it! At elections.alaska.gov!

If you need a better understanding of ranked choice voting visit https://www.elections.alaska.gov/RCV.php.

You can be an informed voter. And remember, all votes count and all voices matter.

For any voting questions you may have feel free to email akoplin907@gmail.com

Therese Lewandowski for Kenai Peninsula Votes.