Alaska's Voting Rights at Stake in Supreme Court Case

Alaska faces a big challenge from a U.S. Supreme Court case out of Mississippi

over whether states can count male ballots that arrive after election.

Day.

The state allows ballots postmarked by election day to be accepted

if they show up within 10 days or 15 days for overseas voters in general.

Elections.

With its huge size and remote villages, Alaska depends on planes and mail

to deliver voting materials and ballots to places cut off by distance

and weather.

This setup is crucial because most communities rely on flights for year-round access,

including getting ballots to rural spots and back to Juneau for.

Counting.

Alaska's ranked choice voting means small precincts phone in first choices,

but all ballots fly to the capital for final tallies.

Even with the current race period, some 2022 ballots from villages arrive too late due to delays.

Folks in places like Beaver along the Yukon River worry this could silence

thousands of rural voices.

Poll workers there say it would disenfranchise people whose votes take time to travel.

Senator Lisa Murkowski calls it a push to end-mail voting nationwide.

Seeing it as voter intimidation amid other bills requiring photo IDs

and citizenship proof.

Alaska's attorney general filed a neutral brief highlighting election headaches

like a North Slough Village mailing ballots nine days late because

phone lines failed.

Native groups warned it would hit Alaska native voters' hardest,

with spotty postal service delaying postmarks until bigger cities.

As the court weighs in,

Alaskans hope for rules that match their unique realities,

keeping elections fair for everyone no matter how far out they.

Live, that's the story for today.

Anchorage News Today, driven by AI.

I'm Cory with the story.