Notes from the trail: Broken machines, sign waving, and The New Yorker’s opus on Sarah Palin

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With the primary and special general election now just hours from ending, there has been an exhausting amount of activity in political circles. Candidates who are not in the statewide races have had a hard time getting their messages heard, with all the noise about the congressional and senatorial races.

In many parts of the state, voters found no lines and little drama a the polls. Everything was going smoothly.

Coming in hot: In Wasilla, sign-wavers were at it early this morning. One supporter of Nick Begich for Congress brought a homemade sign that said, “Where’s Sarah?” Someone alerted Sarah Palin, who lives nearby, and she showed up and stood right next to the sign, waving her Sarah for Alaska sign just long enough to shoot a short TikTok video to the rap song, “Coming in Hot.” That was posted on Facebook and TikTok.

Voting tabulators break down: In at least four locations, the tabulator machines jammed and people were having to use the emergency slot in the Dominion machines. Those ballots go into a separate compartment and are run through the tabulator after the polls close. The locations with broken tabulators were in Sterling, Kincaid, Girdwood, Campbell Creek, and Oceanview. Election workers assure MRAK that this is a normal occurrence and everything is fine as far as ballot custody.

New Yorker asks if this is Sarah’s last frontier: Writer Antonia Hitchens came up to Alaska and spoke to a lot of people, and gathered a lot of opinions about Sarah Palin, many of them unfavorable. Read the story at this link.

Must Read Alaska Live: Starting at 8 pm, Must Read Alaska will have a host of guests on our Facebook channel, including Gov. Mike Dunleavy, congressional candidate Nick Begich, House candidate Jamie Allard, Senate candidate Tuckerman Babcock, and Americans for Prosperity State Director Bernadette Wilson.

21 COMMENTS

  1. Tabulators were also jammed in Palmer at the Springer Loop location. I have no faith in Div of Elections

  2. “Election workers assure MRAK that this is a normal occurrence and everything is fine as far as ballot custody.”

  3. Outstanding coverage Suzanne please keep us up to date ma’am thank you. Dominion in Alaska destroy that machine voters. That is Lisa’s cousin. And just kick Sara all you can here, let’s see who laughs last? The citizens or dominion. Kelly Sara mike TIME

  4. Having to use the emergency slot in Dominion voting machines is certainly not a good optic on election day!

  5. All true conservatives MUST vote Palin and Begich 1-2 or 2-1. Anything else is self-defeating politicide.
    And may the best man or woman win!

  6. The locations with broken tabulators were in Sterling, Kincaid, Girdwood, Campbell Creek, and Oceanview. Election workers assure MRAK that this is a normal occurrence and everything is fine as far as ballot custody.

    One may wonder if these particular locations are of historically ‘conservative’ leaning voting blocs…..

  7. Best hurry Suzanne you don’t have much time left to put the Boots to Sarah & to continue fawning all over Romney Begech

  8. Ranked choice voting, broken voting machines. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing to see here folks. Move along.

  9. I also posted this comment on another article on the Palin’s fundraiser for Nick Begich. It doesn’t speak well for the Republican “get out the vote” effort.
    “Just voted in Palmer after a confusing journey to two separate polling sites. Our Republican party did a terrible job of notifying anyone of the change. After voting in the last few elections at the Burrough building in downtown Palmer, we encountered a long line there and a lady come out to check if we were in the right place. That’s when we found out that our “new” polling place was clear up in the NE corner of Palmer in the Mat-Su School District Office complex, on the other side of town from where we live!

    What was the purpose of this change? Maybe to confuse voters further in this partially “ranked choice” vote? If it was, they sure did a great job!”

  10. He who counts the votes controls the out come,. Fraud I have voted in the last 8 elections now all of a sudden my vote is questioned, the last presidential election was stolen now when we have a chance to dump princess Lisa mine along with others was questioned, you cannot convince me RCV is fair, I believe the fix is in, the voter staff was to fast on the draw and ready for all of us not on the rolls. Someone behind the curtain is pulling the strings.

  11. Voted in Chugiak. The ballot counter accidentally slipped my ballot out of its cover, saw that he saw at least 2 of my choices, and the machine jammed when it was inserted. Never had an experience like this in any election before.

  12. Mat-Su Borough meeting Wednesday 6 or 7 o’clock will be discussing whether to use Dominion .machines or human vote counting. This is your chance to have a very real impact.

  13. I was 5th in line at Cambell Creek, the machine was already jammed. The staff there were very concerned, and as far as I saw, they called the Division of Elections. I put my ballot in the emergency slot. The sweet old
    ladies and hippie guy there are my neighbors (I assume), and they were all aghast about this happening. I choose to believe in the good-faith effort in my community to get my votes counted, and I didn’t see much reason for one particularly cranky “gentleman” in the gym to be so rude to the volunteers. I asked him to mind his manners, he grumbled something about liberals. I very much doubt the conspiracy to ruin America is based in 99518, but people who want to be jerks are everywhere. Shrug.

  14. After 20 years of voting in the same place…
    They moved my polling location.
    I had to find a computer to run down the new one.
    And then, what pens were provided in the booth?
    Felt pens.
    Isn’t that been proven to be a bleed through problem???

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