Rural Alaskans deserve the same right to vote as any Alaskan in any urban center,
That was the sharp message delivered on the eve of Election Day as the Alaska Democratic Party and rural lawmakers struck a deal with state election officials following a flurry of legal actions over absentee voting access. The state Division of Elections agreed to certify qualified poll workers in rural communities hit hard by closures, averting a showdown in Anchorage Superior Court.
The legal friction began late last week when the Alaska Democratic Party and a political nonprofit filed separate lawsuits against the Alaska Division of Elections. The complaints alleged that the state failed to open dozens of absentee in-person voting locations across rural Alaska, echoing concerns first raised by Alaska Native voting advocacy groups during the August primary election. Over the weekend, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews placed the Democratic Party’s suit on hold and ordered both sides to collaborate on solutions for shuttered sites.
Jenny-Marie Stryker, executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party, noted that Monday morning’s scheduled hearing was canceled after the state agreed to certify qualified individuals in affected regions. Under the terms of the agreement, the party and local lawmakers joined forces to help recruit workers to open the stagnant polling stations. Even with the legal pause, Stryker pointed out that the party continued receiving reports of irregular hours and sudden closures at absentee in-person sites, citing five outstanding locations still needing assistance in Holy Cross, Chignik Bay, Goodnews Bay, Kongiganak, and Alakanuk.
Lawmakers Push Back on Recruitment Burden
State representatives caught in the middle of the scramble voiced deep frustration over being asked to step in for state administrators. Rep. Nellie Unangiq Jimmie, a Democrat from Toksook Bay, was among the legislators who wrote to the Division of Elections to demand action. While she made phone calls in Yup’ik to help recruit poll workers in her sprawling Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta district, she argued that elected officials should not bear the responsibility of staffing state elections.
I really don’t appreciate the Division of Elections asking me to do their job in help finding poll workers,
Jimmie said, adding that sporadic access compounds the difficulties of mail delays in remote regions and ultimately strips her constituents of their voice.
The conflict traces back even further into the legislative calendar. House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent, criticized Gov. Dunleavy’s March veto of a sweeping, bipartisan election reform bill. Edgmon noted that the vetoed legislation would have established a rural liaison position within the division and introduced a ballot-curing process to help voters fix minor errors.
The Alaska Democratic Party emphasized that these recurring disruptions violate state expectations and federal consent decree obligations under Toyukak v. Dahlstrom to provide proper language assistance in Western Alaska. While the state’s official Division of Elections website has worked to update site availability, local monitors report that reality on the ground often diverges sharply from published schedules.
Enough is enough,
Edgmon said regarding the ongoing struggle to stabilize small-community voting access, pointing to the persistent hurdles of severe weather, unreliable transportation, and administrative shortages.
