Groups sue state over closed rural voting sites in Anchorage court

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews set a hearing for 9 a.m. Monday regarding a lawsuit filed by political groups against the Alaska Division of Elections. The judge issued the order on Friday afternoon in response to the first of two suits challenging the status of rural voting sites. The hearing will take place the day before the state's general election.

The Midnight Sun Independence Fund, a political nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., filed the initial complaint on Thursday. The Alaska Democratic Party filed a separate but similar lawsuit on Friday afternoon. Both organizations allege that the division failed to operate dozens of designated absentee in-person voting locations in rural areas before Election Day.

The complaints state that at least 18 locations were not operating during the first week of early voting, which began on Oct. 19. The affected communities include Chignik Bay, Point Lay, Alakanuk, Newhalen, and Toksook Bay. As of Oct. 28, the division's website listed five other sites as temporarily closed and removed three additional locations entirely.

The Alaska Democratic Party included data from more than 600 phone checks conducted between Oct. 26 and Oct. 29. The party reported that callers could not reach staff at more than 150 of those locations. The checks identified over 80 instances where a site was closed or operating on changed hours, and more than 60 instances where published closing times did not match actual operations.

Both suits name Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, and the division itself as defendants in their official capacities. The plaintiffs argue that the closures violate the Alaska Constitution's guarantees of the right to vote. They seek court orders requiring the division to open and operate the designated sites.

State Rep. Nellie Jimmie, a Democrat from Toksook Bay, wrote to the division earlier this week to express concern over the closures. She noted that rural residents face limited travel and communication options. "The right to vote must be meaningful in practice, and recurring disruptions require more than assurances that individual problems will be addressed," Jimmie wrote in the letter.

State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, sent a similar letter last week. Beecher responded by distinguishing between early voting and absentee in-person voting. She stated that 12 of the 18 locations identified in the letters had confirmed they were open, while three declined to open and three had not responded. Beecher added that locations are free to change or extend their hours up to the closing of the polls.

The lawsuits highlight specific financial burdens on remote voters. The Midnight Sun complaint cites a flight cost of roughly $450 from Toksook Bay to Bethel. It notes that the median income in that community is less than $25,000. The suit argues that unannounced closures force voters to undertake burdens that may be insurmountable.

The Alaska Department of Law, which represents the state in these suits, did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. Jenny-Marie Stryker, executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party, said several lawmakers representing rural areas planned to join the suit as plaintiffs but had not filed motions to do so as of Saturday morning.

Alaska House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent, referenced a vetoed election reform bill that would have increased funding for polling places. The bill passed the Legislature earlier this year with bipartisan support but was vetoed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Lawmakers failed to override the veto by two votes. Voters will select a new governor on Tuesday as Dunleavy is termed out.