The ability to vote isn’t always guaranteed in Alaska’s far-flung Native villages

Alaska Native village's polling station didn't open for the August primary in Wales , in far western Alaska along the Bering Strait .

Alaska Native voters for years faced language barriers at the polls.

In 2020 , the state Division of Elections failed to send absentee ballots to the southwest Alaska village of Mertarvik .

In June 2022 , a special primary for the U.S. House was conducted primarily by mail after the sudden death of Republican Rep. Don Young .

Kaktovik is 670 miles ( 1,078 km ) north of Anchorage , on Barter Island , between the Arctic Ocean and Alaska ’s North Slope .

The temperature can dip to 20 below zero F ( 29 below C) during the perpetual darkness of winter .

The Alaska Federation of Natives , the largest statewide Native organization in Alaska , passed a resolution last year raising concerns with mail service.

It is surveying residents about their postal service, including how it affects their ability to vote.

The mayor said he got an earful when he returned from vacation.

“I end up coming back and hearing about how the primary wasn’t opened and how people had to miss their first -ever election,” Gordon Jr. said.