Alaskans will elect a U.S. senator, a member of the U.S. House, a governor and several dozen state legislators on Nov. 8. It’s an important vote, with real consequences for the nation, the state’s future, school funding, the ferry system, civil liberties and social justice.
And yet, judging from past turnouts in non-presidential election years, maybe half of Alaska’s registered voters will cast a ballot. Which means the other half stayed home — unconcerned, uninterested and unmoved in how their state and country are run.
Really, 50% is a good benchmark? Something to be proud of? Sounds more like a half-hearted effort.
Voting should be a point of pride, a chance to tell everyone what’s important to you, a chance to pick your leaders. It’s a right and an obligation that should not be ignored. It’s a freedom that means a lot, especially in countries that do not allow free elections. And certainly, in the U.S. in today’s divisive political climate, it’s important that we settle differences at the ballot box, not on social media.
Free and fair elections, with a high voter turnout, are an indication that a nation treats its citizens well and that the citizens respond by participating in government.
That’s especially worth remembering this year. The Nov. 8 election falls on the day after the 100th anniversary of Tlingit civil rights advocate Tillie Paul Tamaree’s successful effort to help Charlie Jones, the seventh Chief Shakes, vote in an election in Wrangell.
Tamaree’s work led to a court case that would help secure the right to vote for Alaska Natives two years before the federal Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 extended citizenship to American Indians and Native people across the United States.
The Nov. 7, 1922, election was important. Historians report that strict new federal fishing permit requirements, along with fish traps owned by absentee businessmen, were making it almost impossible for Alaska Native fishermen to support themselves.
Although most of the Wrangell population was Native, whites controlled nearly every aspect of the local government, according to an episode of Ronan Rooney’s “Wrangell History Unlocked” podcast of October 2020. Ending segregation, safeguarding fishing rights and building Native political power required winning the right to vote for Natives. Tamaree and her sons understood that.
When Tlingit elder Charlie Jones approached the voting booth on Nov. 7, he was initially turned away. That didn’t stop Tamaree, then 59 years old. After running into Jones and listening to his story, she walked him back to the voting booth — where he cast his ballot.
The government did not accept the outcome. Instead, Jones was charged with illegal voting and perjury. Tamaree was charged with “inducing an Indian not entitled to vote to vote.”
Tamaree’s son, William Paul, was a gifted lawyer, according to Alaska historian Steven Haycox. Paul had to prove that Jones was “civilized” and therefore eligible to vote. He showed that Jones paid taxes, sent his children to school and donated to the Red Cross. He won the trial and Jones and Tamaree were both released.
The win was important for multiple reasons: It showed that discrimination can be defeated, if not eliminated, and it provided an example for the next 100 years of how important it is that everyone have the opportunity to vote — and use it.
Remember Tillie Paul Tamaree, her son and Charlie Jones and all who followed, fighting for the right to vote. Honor them by casting a ballot Nov. 8.
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