OPINION: Baker is a poor representative of rural Alaska

Has been updated: 3 by the time release date: Four by the time

As Congress drew to a close, Rep. Thomas Baker (R-Kotzebue) cast the deciding vote to kill an election reform bill that would result in Alaska Natives continuing to have their ballots discarded at a disproportionate rate. Baker’s votes have been incredibly damaging to rural Alaska, and I cannot understand why he continues to cast far-right votes that harm his community.

In recent elections, about 15% of votes in villages and stronghold communities were thrown out due to technical errors, disenfranchising people whose families have lived here for thousands of years. The main factors for canceling a vote are the need for witness signatures and “ballot curing,” a simple process that reaffirms the voter’s intentions on a ballot that may have smudges or ink marks. This is something that has not been done. For very good reasons, the Senate State Affairs Committee amended House Bill 129 to include ballot preservation and remove witness signature requirements. The Senate also ensured that other important reforms were included, including language that would prohibit the use of artificial intelligence-generated images and videos to manipulate elections.

Taken together, these election reform bills would have ensured that every legal vote was counted while protecting against hacking and artificial intelligence-driven misinformation. Unfortunately, some political parties do not want to protect the right to vote in rural Alaska because they believe that counting every vote would favor candidates they don’t agree with. Forget partisanship; counting the votes of Alaskans is a constitutional right and fundamental to the rule of law. Senator Baker’s vote for this bill is unacceptable.

This is not the first time Baker has voted against his district’s interests. Earlier this year, he cast the deciding vote to maintain a veto on education funding, despite leaders from around the region urging him to override. Baker has even introduced anti-subsistence legislation that would jeopardize food security to benefit wealthy outside hunters. Thomas Baker was never elected to this position, but was apparently appointed to advance the agenda of Alaska’s urban political partisans.

We look forward to the Bush Caucus coming together to fight for rural Alaska. Thomas Baker crushed the Bush Caucus and stripped local legislators of their ability to act in the interests of rural Alaska. Fire Thomas Baker and restore the power of the Bush Caucus, a group of people who are from this region, who are connected to our region, and who will fight for voting rights, the right to life, education funding, and other issues vital to our community. It’s time to elect your representatives.

corey shepherd I am an educator and education advocate who lives in Kotzebue.

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