A borough assembly election in Haines normally wouldn't draw much notice in the rest of the state, but this fall's balloting produced another chapter in a long-running Alaska story. When Haines election officials finished their count for Assembly Seat A, Gary Lidholm was the winner, with 439 votes. Just two votes separated him from runner-up Daymond Hoffman, with 437.
As always in elections, some ballots in the race were not counted for technical reasons. And as always in super-close elections, there were disputes about whether those uncounted ballots were properly excluded.
Hoffman's supporters thought some of those ballots should be counted, and took their case to court. Juneau Superior Court Judge Patricia Collins looked at three rejected write-in ballots that were marked "D. Hoffman" or "Hoffman" and decided they should be counted.
The apparent loser Hoffman was now ahead by one.
But two more sealed ballots remained. Haines election officials had rejected the absentee ballots because they did not have postmarks indicating they'd been cast in time.
Judge Collins found that both ballots were timely and should be counted. Both were for Hoffman, making him the winner by three votes.
Unusual as it is to overturn an election result in court, Hoffman's win was even more unlikely -- he was a write-in candidate.
It's one more example of how passionate, motivated Alaskans can make a difference. Alaska's a small place, politically speaking, and it's easy to get involved. Even if all you do is vote, you never know when your one vote might determine the outcome.
That's something worth keeping in mind, as our friends and neighbors serving in the military defend our freedom in foreign lands where the rights we take for granted are a foreign concept.
BOTTOM LINE: Don't take this precious right for granted.