U.S. Justice Department monitoring elections on Alaska’s North Slope and in Dillingham, Kusilvak areas

By Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon

Updated: October 4, 2023 Published: October 4, 2023

An arch made of whalebones and the frame of a traditional Inupiat umiat are displayed on the beach at Utqiagvik on Aug. 2, 2022. Utqiagvik, the northernmost U.S. community, is the population center of the North Slope Borough. The U.S. Justice Department said it is monitoring Tuesday's local elections on the North Slope Borough and two other rural Alaska areas. (Yereth Rosen / Alaska Beacon)

The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday it is monitoring local elections in three rural Alaska regions to ensure compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act.

The elections being monitored are those on the North Slope, where voters are choosing a new borough mayor and several other officials, in the Dillingham and Kusilvak census areas, where voters are choosing among various school board and city council candidates.

The regions being monitored are largely Alaska Native. Most North Slope Borough residents are Inupiat, while residents of the Dillingham Census Area and the Kusilvak Census area are largely Yup’ik.

The department has an online form and an email address for individuals to use if they want to file complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws.

The North Slope Borough mayor’s race promises to be among the most-watched of the contests.

[Four seasoned candidates run for the North Slope Borough mayor position]

The Minnesota-sized borough, home to about 11,000 people, is the northernmost regional government in the nation. It holds some of North America’s biggest oil fields and big swathes of federal land, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is also home to the Inupiat-owned Arctic Slope Regional Corp., the largest Alaska-owned company.

Among the four candidates for mayor are state Rep. Josiah Patkotak, I-Utqiagvik, who would leave the Legislature if he wins Tuesday’s election. Patkotak is a key member of the slim, mostly Republican majority in the state House.

[Experienced local politicians and new faces run for North Slope Borough and Utqiaġvik city elections]

Other candidates are Doreen Lampe, a longtime borough assembly member; John Hopson Jr., a former Wainwright mayor who is currently on the borough assembly; and Anthony Edwardsen, a former president of the Ukpeagvik Iñupiat Corporation, the village Native corporation for Utqiagvik.

There are numerous other local elections around Alaska on Tuesday, including state-administered elections for school boards in Rural Education Attendance Areas, which are areas outside of any organized boroughs.

Originally published by the Alaska Beacon, an independent, nonpartisan news organization that covers Alaska state government.