Alaska Native villages say promised voting sites never opened before Senate vote

Alaska Native villages say they were left without voting sites the state had promised, one day before a Senate race that is close. A lawsuit says at least 18 sites listed on the state Division of Elections website were not operating the week of Oct. 19, when in-person voting began ¹.

The complaint names Alakanuk, Gambell, Quinhagak, Toksook Bay and Nanwalek among the 18. It says some local officials never received ballots or instructions, and others got materials but no training. Residents reported five more closed sites in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, it says ¹.

What the state says

The state disputes the scale. In an Oct. 26 letter, Elections Director Carol Beecher told state Sen. Bill Wielechowski, a Democrat from Anchorage, that 12 of the 18 sites he flagged had confirmed they were open. She said three had declined to open and three had not responded ¹².

The division has not said which sites fall into which group. As of Sunday, its website listed Goodnews Bay, Kongiganak and Mertarvik as temporarily closed. It had removed Chignik Bay, Fort Wainwright and Levelock ¹.

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Wielechowski said his information came from groups with people in the villages who found sites closed on Oct. 19 and 20 ². Alaska Public Media's own calls found officials in 10 villages who said their sites were open, though hours were not always consistent. Gambell opened Friday, later than planned ².

There's no polling place anymore,

Nanwalek and the lawsuit

The lawsuit singles out Nanwalek. It says the village has no regular Election Day precinct, so voters would have to travel to Tyonek across Cook Inlet if their absentee site is unavailable ¹.

The state says Nanwalek's absentee site was open from Oct. 19. A crowd-sourced tracker paid for by the 907 Initiative, a political group, says it opened Oct. 30. Newsweek could not confirm which is right ¹.

Thomas Evans, a former tribal liaison who used to help run the village's polling place, said the cost of travel makes Tyonek out of reach. A round-trip flight to Homer runs about $200, he said ¹.

Absentee in-person ballots are not rejected because of mistakes made by AVOs.

The Alaska Democratic Party and a group of rural lawmakers filed a similar suit Friday. The party says the closures likely violate a federal consent decree, a court-approved settlement, in Toyukak v. Dahlstrom. That settlement requires Yup'ik language help for voters in Western Alaska ¹.

The Midnight Sun Independence Fund is a nonprofit focused on voter education. It is also among the biggest funders of a PAC that has spent more than $4 million backing Peltola, the Anchorage Daily News reported, citing federal records ¹.

Why it matters

A Division of Elections spokesperson said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. He noted that voters can also cast ballots by mail, electronically, at early sites or in person on Election Day ¹.

Mail is not a sure fix in remote Alaska. Evans said planes can be a week late in bad weather. The state itself told the U.S. Supreme Court this year that mail delivery there "isn't guaranteed," according to the complaint ¹.

That matters because Alaska elections turn on tiny margins. In 2024 Republican Nick Begich beat Peltola by 7,876 votes, and a repeal of ranked-choice voting failed by 737 ¹. The RealClearPolitics polling average has Peltola at 49.2% and Sullivan at 47.8% ¹.

According to the complaint, 18,158 people voted by absentee in person in 2024. Kendra Kloster, director of government relations for the Alaska Federation of Natives, said the division should clearly tell voters when and where voting is available ².

The Record

1. Jan 1, 2024Republican Nick Begich beat Mary Peltola for Alaska's U.S. House seat by 7,876 votes after ranked-choice counting ¹.
2. Oct 19, 2026Early and in-person absentee voting began in Alaska; the lawsuit says at least 18 listed rural sites were not operating that week ¹².
3. Oct 26, 2026Elections Director Carol Beecher told Sen. Bill Wielechowski that 12 of 18 flagged sites were open, three declined to open and three did not respond ¹².
4. Oct 30, 2026The Alaska Democratic Party and rural lawmakers filed a similar suit, citing the Toyukak consent decree ¹.

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<h2>Alaska Native villages say promised voting sites never opened before Senate vote</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Campaign Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/alaska-native-villages-say-promised-voting-sites-never-opened-before-senate-vote">The GOP Files</a> on Monday, November 2, 2026.</em></p> <p>Alaska Native villages say they were left without voting sites the state had promised, one day before a Senate race that is close. A lawsuit says at least 18 sites listed on the state Division of Elections website were not operating the week of Oct. 19, when in-person voting began .</p> <p>The complaint names Alakanuk, Gambell, Quinhagak, Toksook Bay and Nanwalek among the 18. It says some local officials never received ballots or instructions, and others got materials but no training. Residents reported five more closed sites in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, it says .</p> <h2>What the state says</h2> <p>The state disputes the scale. In an Oct. 26 letter, Elections Director Carol Beecher told state Sen. Bill Wielechowski, a Democrat from Anchorage, that 12 of the 18 sites he flagged had confirmed they were open. She said three had declined to open and three had not responded .</p> <p>The division has not said which sites fall into which group. As of Sunday, its website listed Goodnews Bay, Kongiganak and Mertarvik as temporarily closed. It had removed Chignik Bay, Fort Wainwright and Levelock .</p> <p>Wielechowski said his information came from groups with people in the villages who found sites closed on Oct. 19 and 20 . Alaska Public Media&#39;s own calls found officials in 10 villages who said their sites were open, though hours were not always consistent. Gambell opened Friday, later than planned .</p> <blockquote><p>There&#39;s no polling place anymore,</p><p>&mdash; Thomas Evans, former tribal liaison and former Nanwalek poll worker</p></blockquote> <h2>Nanwalek and the lawsuit</h2> <p>The lawsuit singles out Nanwalek. It says the village has no regular Election Day precinct, so voters would have to travel to Tyonek across Cook Inlet if their absentee site is unavailable .</p> <p>The state says Nanwalek&#39;s absentee site was open from Oct. 19. A crowd-sourced tracker paid for by the 907 Initiative, a political group, says it opened Oct. 30. Newsweek could not confirm which is right .</p> <p>Thomas Evans, a former tribal liaison who used to help run the village&#39;s polling place, said the cost of travel makes Tyonek out of reach. A round-trip flight to Homer runs about $200, he said .</p> <blockquote><p>Absentee in-person ballots are not rejected because of mistakes made by AVOs.</p><p>&mdash; Carol Beecher, Alaska Division of Elections director</p></blockquote> <p>The Alaska Democratic Party and a group of rural lawmakers filed a similar suit Friday. The party says the closures likely violate a federal consent decree, a court-approved settlement, in Toyukak v. Dahlstrom. That settlement requires Yup&#39;ik language help for voters in Western Alaska .</p> <p>The Midnight Sun Independence Fund is a nonprofit focused on voter education. It is also among the biggest funders of a PAC that has spent more than $4 million backing Peltola, the Anchorage Daily News reported, citing federal records .</p> <h2>Why it matters</h2> <p>A Division of Elections spokesperson said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. He noted that voters can also cast ballots by mail, electronically, at early sites or in person on Election Day .</p> <p>Mail is not a sure fix in remote Alaska. Evans said planes can be a week late in bad weather. The state itself told the U.S. Supreme Court this year that mail delivery there &quot;isn&#39;t guaranteed,&quot; according to the complaint .</p> <p>That matters because Alaska elections turn on tiny margins. In 2024 Republican Nick Begich beat Peltola by 7,876 votes, and a repeal of ranked-choice voting failed by 737 . The RealClearPolitics polling average has Peltola at 49.2% and Sullivan at 47.8% .</p> <p>According to the complaint, 18,158 people voted by absentee in person in 2024. Kendra Kloster, director of government relations for the Alaska Federation of Natives, said the division should clearly tell voters when and where voting is available .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/alaska-native-villages-say-promised-voting-sites-never-opened-before-senate-vote">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/alaska-native-villages-say-promised-voting-sites-never-opened-before-senate-vote.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. Newsweek, “Alaska Native Villages Face Election Without Promised Voting Sites” (2026-11-02). newsweek.com/alaska-native-villages-face-election-without-pr
2. Alaska Public Media, “Some rural Alaska absentee voting sites failed to open ahead of midterms” (2026-10-27). alaskapublic.org/news/politics/elections/2026-10-27/some-rur

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