Alaskans voting in the Aug. 20 primary election again have a resource to learn where the candidates stand on a wide range of issues: the Alaska Beacon’s 2024 Voter Guide.

These questions encompass candidates’ positions on everything from schools to taxes to what candidates see as the biggest local need.

Across the U.S., many news organizations have stopped sending questionnaires to candidates due to poor response rates. But we’ve found that Alaska candidates continue to respond: 10 of 12 U.S. House candidates and 78 of 115 legislative candidates answered our questions.

The Beacon is covering individual races, starting with the U.S. House race. And we plan to have at least one news article on all of the most competitive legislative races before the November general election. As in 2022, the guiding principle in our election coverage is what’s at stake, not the horse race.

But the Voter Guide gives Alaskans a chance to hear directly from candidates, in their own words. And unlike in campaign advertising, the candidates were responding to challenging questions. As a news organization, the Alaska Beacon’s highest priority is to connect Alaskans to their state government, helping them understand the state politics and policies that affect them. We believe that the Voter Guide helps advance this mission.

The Beacon news staff wrote these questions with a focus on what Alaskans have told us are the most important issues for them. Some drew directly from questions posed by voters, since they are ultimately the ones elected officials answer to. Our four-person team sorted through dozens of potential questions, honing the list to the two separate sets of 15 for the U.S. House and the Legislature.

I encourage voters to spend time with the candidates’ answers before they vote. The Voter Guide also includes each candidate’s partisan registration, as well as links to candidates’ campaign sites. The salary and length of term is included for each race. You can read more about the primary in recent articles we published. And our Election 2024 page includes key election dates, answers to questions about how to vote, and a link to our parent organization States Newsroom’s national election newsletter.

What’s on the ballot:

In the primary, voters vote on two or three races this year: U.S. House, state House and, in half of the state, state Senate. The other half of the state will vote on state Senate seats in 2026. Voters must choose only one candidate in each primary race, with the top four vote-getters advancing to the general election, in which ranked choice voting is used. Two ballot measures will also be on the November ballot, including one related to labor issues and another seeking repeal of the current voting system.

• Andrew Kitchenman has covered state government in Alaska since 2016, serving as the Capitol reporter for Alaska Public Media and KTOO before joining the Alaska Beacon. Before this, he covered state and local governments on the East Coast – primarily in New Jersey – for more than 15 years. He enjoys reading, watching movies and walking around Anchorage. Alaska Beacon, an affiliate of States Newsroom, is an independent, nonpartisan news organization focused on connecting Alaskans to their state government.