In the last Legislature, a Democrat-sponsored bill aimed at increasing voter turnout in Alaska, especially in the Bush. It didn’t get a single hearing in the Republican-led House of Representatives. Now, Rep. Chris Tuck, an Anchorage Democrat, is in a powerful position leading the new House majority, and has reintroduced the legislation and the bill is making some progress. Cindy Allred works for Get Out the Native Vote, an organization that has been active registering and encouraging voting among Alaska Natives, many of whom live in rural areas.
“We do have a big concern that there are more challenges to registering to vote in rural Alaska, to voting in rural Alaska as well,” she commented. “There are communities in Alaska that don’t even have a polling station.”
Get Out the Native Vote put their weight behind passing PFD voter registration and has been working with Tuck on House Bill 1.
“There’s a couple of us who just got together and said “How can we help modernize Alaska’s system? How can we try to make it more equitable?” said Allred.
Full Article: House Majority Leader Chris Tuck pushes reforms to improve voter turnout.