By Paul Dauphinais

The news at the end of July is awash with voting issues. Non-citizens voting in New Jersey, Alaskans being removed from voter lists because of questionable data from the Division of Motor Vehicles. People are upset and rightfully so. This is a real problem, and the Alaskan primaries are just two weeks away. 

Anything infringing on the ability to vote is problematic. But looking at the recent history of voting in Alaska’s primary elections shows an even bigger problem.

Since 2000, according to data from the Alaska’s Division of Elections website, the voter turnout in Alaska’s State Senate Primary elections has averaged about 25% of registered voters. Only in 2006, 2008 and 2022 has the turnout in the August primaries topped 30%. In 2000, 2002, 2016, 2018 and 2024 participation was under 20%, and two of those were presidential election years.

In 2025 there were 569,196 registered voters in Alaska. The Division of Elections recently removed 3,048 from the voter list based on DMV data. That’s less than 1%. But given how close some elections are in Alaska, that is still a significant number. Bill Walker won his 2014 governor’s race by roughly 1,000 votes and Mark Begich beat Ted Stevens by 3,724 votes in 2008. Three thousand voters are significant in Alaska.

But an average of only 25% of registered voters participating in the primaries tends to negate the argument that the system is disenfranchising people. In the 2024 primary in House District 6 (Homer) only 4,717 votes turned out in a district with 18,310 voters registered for 25.8% participation. It’s nice to be average. Three of the district’s nine precincts had a participation rate of 15% or lower. The winner of that primary was a mere 429 votes ahead of the second-place finisher. In the 2024 Alaska primary race for U.S. House of Representatives, only 18% of voters turned out to vote in 2024. And these were open primaries.

The 2024 general election saw a 55.8% turnout state-wide for the U.S. House race. For Homer, 65% voted in the State Representative election. Better than the primary, but nothing to brag about.

Voting may be a right, but it is an even greater privilege. We need to exercise it. We can be full of righteous indignation when we think our ability to vote is being curtailed or when we think some who should not be able to vote are suspected of doing so. But when only about one in four of us vote in the primaries our righteous indignation is Shakespearian, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

Why all the noise about voting rights when so few exercise that privilege? We are disenfranchising ourselves. Even in the general elections for president, Alaska only averages 62.5% voter turnout since 2000. The national average is 71% with Wyoming being the leader at nearly 100%, and Texas the trailer at 59% turnout.

Indeed, there are many who truly can’t vote; first responders on standby, those hospitalized or very ill at home, people handling family or personal emergencies. Life happens, but not for 75% of us on a scheduled day. 

In some countries voting is mandatory. In Australia and Austria, you are fined if you don’t vote. In Cyprus you go to jail for a brief time. They consider voting a civic duty, something even more important than a privilege.

If you think the system is rigged or that your vote doesn’t make a difference, so you don’t vote, you do nothing more than disenfranchise yourself. Remember, if you didn’t vote in 2014 for governor and 1,000 others did the same thing, we might have had a different governor. Some elections in Alaska are that close.

The main thing is we have the opportunity to vote, we know the date and time to vote, and we should take advantage of it. Going to have to work an extended shift on Aug. 18? Know you’re going to be out of town or have other responsibilities that day? Arrange to vote early or to vote online.

If we don’t vote, all the back and forth about voting rights is just noise. All the rules covering campaigns and the political process are rendered meaningless when people don’t vote. Our politicians need not pay attention to us if only a minority of people vote. If you don’t vote you are no one’s constituent.

Voting is our right, one of our greatest privileges, and could be considered a civic duty.

Your vote really does count, but only if you cast it.


Paul Dauphinais is a former executive director of the Alaska Public Offices Commission. He lives in Homer.