The Alaska Democratic Party announced March 23 that it will hold its presidential primary exclusively by mail. In-person voting planned for April 4 was canceled due to concerns about the coronavirus.

The party also decided to extend the deadlines for returning and counting ballots.

Originally, mail-in ballots needed to be postmarked by March 24 to be counted. The party now says they must be received in Anchorage no later than April 10.

In a press release, the Alaska Democratic Party said they sent more than 71,000 ballots to registered Democrats this year. That is seven times the number of people who participated in the state’s 2016 primary, according to Lindsay Kavanaugh, the party's executive director.

The primary is open only to registered Democrats. Ballots are available on the Alaska Democratic Party website.