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Fairbanks residents push back against claims protesters were paid; many also urge borough to renew Dominion voting-machine contract
Summary
Dozens of residents testified at the borough assembly, challenging statements by an assembly member that recent protests were driven by paid outsiders and urging elected officials to retain Dominion tabulation equipment and avoid hand-counting ballots.
Dozens of residents took the borough assembly microphone March 27 to press two connected concerns: push back against an assembly member's public comments suggesting recent local protests were "paid" outsiders, and urge borough officials to reconsider the decision not to renew the Dominion voting-machine contract.
Speakers from a wide range of neighborhoods said they attended peaceful demonstrations on March 21'22 because they were worried about federal policy and governance, not because they had been paid or bused in. "I was born and raised in Fairbanks... I was not paid for that," said Elliot Blausen, who said he was one of the local protesters. Mary Catherine Romberg, who said she taught in the borough school district for 20 years, said she and many friends "were members of this community, not outsiders and were not paid." Several speakers asked Assembly Member Barbara Haney to retract online statements that implied protesters were outsiders.
A second theme dominated testimony: multiple precinct election workers and long-time poll volunteers told the Assembly that canceling the Dominion contract and shifting to hand counts (or different tabulation systems) would be costly, slow and prone to human error. Joyce Parks, a longtime poll worker, told the Assembly it would have taken 67 days to count the 2022 ballots by hand at her precinct staffing levels and that hand-counting is "very expensive, time consuming and error prone." Tom Bachert and several other commenters who work elections echoed that machines save many hours and reduce worker fatigue-driven errors.
Other speakers combined both themes: several said they were angered that local elected officials had amplified claims the protests were ‘‘astro-turfed''paid outsiders''and they urged officials instead to engage with constituents and hear the substance of their concerns. "When you, as a public servant post lies, we will call out your lies," said Mary Catherine Romberg.
Assembly members asked questions but did not take formal action on either the Haney-related social-media controversy or the voting-machine contract during the meeting. A number of public commenters specifically urged the Assembly or the mayor to reconsider the borough's decision on tabulation equipment before the next election cycle and to consult precinct workers about practical impacts.
Why it matters: The exchange highlighted two local governance fault lines: the role of elected officials'speech on social media, and the borough's approach to election administration. Both can affect public trust; one involves reputational risk for an elected official, the other implicates administration of local elections and recruitment of poll workers.
Ending: Residents left the meeting pressing for public accountability from their elected representatives and for officials to heed frontline election workers' concerns ahead of the next election.
