Politics

Two rural Alaska state senators want to make sure that every Alaskan has access to a ballot on Election Day in November. Democratic Sens. Lyman Hoffman and Donny Olson are calling on the Alaska Division of Elections to create a plan ensuring that every eligible Alaskan will get a ballot in their community.

Unofficial election results show a new face joining Bethel City Council. Rose “Sugar” Henderson will fill former council member Hugh Dyment’s seat. Mayor Perry Barr and council member Michelle DeWitt will return for two more years. 

If passed, the Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting and Campaign Finance Laws Initiative, or Ballot Measure 2, would change the way that Alaskans vote in both the primary and general elections. It would do away with Alaska's current partisan primary, allowing Alaskans to vote for any candidate in the primary, regardless of party affiliation. 

Alaska's Ballot Measure 1 would change the state’s oil taxes to increase the amount that oil companies pay, and reduce the deductions that they can take, among other things. Opponents say that it will hurt the industry and that’s not good for Alaska. Chantal Walsh is the campaign manager for One Alaska, a group opposing the measure. 

Read this post to learn all you need to know about the Bethel City Elections.

One of the candidates for State House District 38 is facing a $21,625 fine for not disclosing his campaign finances on time. Willy Keppel, from Quinhagak, blames his failure to submit those reports on poor internet service in rural Alaska. 

Rural Alaska has been doing well on filling out the census, but the problem is in hub communities like Bethel. According to Nicole Borromeo, executive vice president and general counsel for the Alaska Federation of Natives, that failure to provide census data will cost the region lots of money.