Native Peoples Action Community Fund distributes absentee ballot applications

After a lawsuit asking that the State of Alaska mail out absentee ballot applications to all registered voters lost in court, an Indigenousled nonprofit organization took initiative to help Alaskans vote. The Native Peoples Action Community Fund mailed out 34,000 absentee ballot applications to voters in rural Alaska, including residents of Nome and the Bering Strait region. An additional 20,000 applications went to residents of Anchorage and 5,000 to voters in Fairbanks.

The application came in an envelope with a letter from NPACF Executive Director Kendra Kloster that contains voting information and directions for submitting a ballot.

This is the first time that NPACF has physically mailed out ballot applications to voters. Kloster explained that the decision was made, in large part, due to the pandemic and the subsequent reliance on absentee voting. “Now more than ever we need to look at other voting options that will help decrease the number of people at polling locations and easy access to voting at home for those who can do so,” reads the letter.

Due to the pandemic, voting in person may be risky, particularly for individuals who are especially vulnerable to the virus. To make voting by mail easier, the State of Alaska sent out absentee ballot applications to voters who are 65-years-old and older.

Kloster said this effort was not enough. “We felt it needed to go to everybody, because everyone should have the same opportunities,” Kloster said. There are a lot of barriers to voting in Alaska, Kloster said, using the example of the community of Mertarvik that did not receive ballots because the Division of Elections did not realize that people lived there. “We wanted to do our part to help voters,” she said.

To determine where to send the ballots, Kloster said that the NPACF requested a list of registered voters from the DOE and worked with a mailing service to get a list of addresses for individuals in rural Alaska. They then put the two lists against one another and sent ballots to all registered voters who also had

a valid address on file.

The effort is not politically motivated, according to Kloster, and is not about bolstering the voice of a particular party. “It’s not about who you vote for, but about getting the vote out and being informed,” said Kloster. The job of elected officials is to represent the people, and when individuals do not vote, someone else makes that decision, she added. Kloster emphasized that voting and “getting everyone’s voice heard” is a priority of the organization yearround, not just during election seasons and years.

Mailing out ballot applications is one way to increase voter access, but Kloster said that NPACF also advocates for longer term solutions by advocating for policies that allow equal access to voting. They run a get out the vote program and encourage voting in different ways, including starting a hotline and compiling information online and in videos laying out when, where and how to vote.

Kloster said that there is potential for the organization to mail out ballot applications in future elections, but this depends on whether or not Alaskans find the initiative helpful. For example, it is possible that in future elections the DOE will automatically mail absentee ballot applications to all voters.

Alaska Division of Elections spokesperson Tiffany Montemayor said that the DOE does not stop organizations from sending out absentee ballot applications. It is not unheard of for organizations other than the DOE to mail out ballot applications, according to Montemayor. She said that the DOE will review the application for accuracy upon the organization’s request, which the division appreciates doing. “Helping to get out the vote is a good thing. The Division of Elections wants every Alaskan voter’s voice to be heard,” Montemayor said, but adds that, “We do want voters to know that they only have to apply once and that those applications are not coming from our office.”