By PEDRO GONZALEZ
Last year, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough held its first election under Ordinance 22-119, which requires that votes be counted by hand in view of poll watchers.
The results came in without a hitch. Even though two teams of workers had to be hired to get it done, Mat-Su officials said that it was likely less costly than utilizing voting machines.
The success of that initiative inspired a similar effort to eliminate voting machines in the Kenai Peninsula Borough by a group called Liberty Action. It also resulted in some confusion—then clarity—about how election processes are conducted and changed.
In an email, Duane Edelman, Liberty Action’s Kenai team leader, told Must Read Alaska that this effort is about bringing “safety, integrity, and accuracy back to our local elections.” Edelman testified before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in May. He and more than two dozen attendees, many of whom wore orange safety vests, called on officials to revise the way local elections work. Key criticisms centered on the use of machines manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems.
Last year, Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit for more than $787 million after Dominion accused the network of spreading false claims about its devices after the presidential election in 2020.
When he appeared before the Kenai Peninsula Assembly in May, Edelman asked the body to terminate its “voting agreement with Dominion.” The appeal followed a period during which Edelman said he studied how Mat-Su passed its ordinance.
In a nutshell, residents had regularly voiced their concerns at borough meetings and then enlisted the help of an assemblyman who sponsored legislation to eliminate electronic voting equipment. Assembly member Ron Bernier, the sponsor, said the initiative was a “reflection of the overwhelming interest for a call for election integrity from the people that have come up and testified at the borough.”
Edelman said his initial efforts were unsuccessful and suggested that local officials are indifferent toward election integrity concerns.
However, Mayor Peter Micciche told Must Read Alaska that there are misunderstandings at play about how elections are conducted in the Kenai Peninsula Borough.
“We only use paper ballots,” Micciche said over the phone. “We don’t have electronic voting.” Micciche noted that these ballots are then tabulated on a card that can be double-checked and said that he has backed legislation that is consistent with the goals of groups like Liberty Action.
“I passed an ordinance last year that required a higher degree of accountability with more hand counting than they were doing,” Micciche said.
During the May meeting, Assemblyman Peter Ribbens stated that he felt comfortable with how elections are currently conducted since the Nikiski precinct was one of the hand-counted precincts last year. Assembly member Kelly Cooper shared that she was an election worker and, like Ribbens, felt that the current system involving both hand counts and tabulation is secure.
When asked about criticism that Kenai officials aren’t taking concerned residents seriously, Micciche said that he encouraged them to continue working through the system.
“They have the right to a citizens’ initiative, and it’s a really great way to measure how the people of the Kenai Peninsula Borough feel about this issue,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to seeing what happens. I assume they could easily gather the signatures.”
Edelman told Must Read Alaska that Liberty Action is preparing to do just that.
There are other reasons beyond concerns over transparency and accuracy to consider dropping electronic voting equipment. Namely, cutting costs.
Mat-Su had previously entered into an eight-year agreement with Dominion, leasing several machines for more than $70,000 per year. The cost of hand counting is estimated to be far less. Indeed, the borough anticipates saving money going forward.
Pedro Gonzalez has joined the editorial staff of Must Read Alaska. His success as a journalist includes contributions to Chronicles Magazine, American Greatness, and Newsmax.
