I read with interest Mr. Jim Lieb’s commentary piece regarding Senate Bill 39 (March 22), in which the writer presented a number of straw-man arguments in an effort to minimize the disenfranchisement said bill would lead to in Alaska. With crocodile tears in his eyes, Mr. Lieb claimed that “there are folks seriously involved in trying to make enough money to survive on, working hard raising children, working at getting educated and trained; folks disabled or dealing with serious medical problems, drugs or mental issues. This translates into a whole lot of citizens who have very little interest in or knowledge of the political world they are living in.”
This is the most disingenuous piece of writing I’ve ever encountered; these are exactly the people who pay attention to politics, because they stand to gain or lose the most from policies endorsed by their representatives. Oddly enough, it’s the Democratic party that generally favors issues these folks are dealing with (raising the minimum wage, expanding child care aid, expanding medical coverage, increasing aid for drug programs and mental health), and that — surprise, surprise — these are the very voters Mr. Lieb questions whether it’s worth it to “register these folks and hand them ballots?”
In fact, it’s unfortunate that these voters have such poor representation in Alaska, a blood-red state if there ever was one, and further limiting their ability to choose political representation is exactly the purpose of SB 39. God forbid we allow these voters — who, as Mr. Lieb says, are already very busy dealing with issues that Republicans refuse to provide aid for — easier access to the democratic process. The result might be that Alaska’s political landscape changes, which would be good for many in Alaska, but obviously bad for the incumbent Republicans who are putting this bill forward, as well as, apparently, Mr. Lieb.
— Zachary Miller
Anchorage
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