Nick Begich, Alaska’s sole U.S. congressman, continues to show that he is more interested in being allowed into the Trump inner circle than serving Alaska. The latest example? He voted YEA on the Save American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.

Sounds like a swell idea, right? Well, here’s what it requires. In order to vote in a federal election — which includes, incidentally, the next election in less than two years of Congressman Begich himself — would-be voters must prove that they are citizens of the US of A. Still sounds like a swell idea, right? Well, here’s how they can prove their citizenship: by providing a passport; a copy of their birth certificate showing their current legal name; or, if you happen to be a woman who married and changed her name, then a copy of both your birth certificate along with a copy of your marriage certificate.

Still sounds like no big deal? Well, here’s a little back story. Several years ago, I — already a 60-something-year-old woman who was born in the U.S., had lived in Alaska for almost 40 years, and had voted in every local, state and federal election since she turned 18 — needed to provide a copy of my marriage certificate for some retirement account.

My husband and I were married in 1967 in Spokane, Washington, and in the 40-plus years since then we had moved several times. If I ever had a copy of my marriage certificate, I certainly didn’t now. So I wrote a letter to the Spokane County clerk explaining my problem, and about a week later I got a response that they would be happy to help me but needed some proof of ID.

I sent a copy of my passport, and about a week or two later I got a letter saying that they had been unable to find a copy of my marriage certificate, but was it possible that we had registered to marry in a different county? Because if we did, that’s where the certificate would have ultimately been filed. Neither of us remembered where we actually registered to marry, but we did in fact live in a different county at the time.

So I called that county clerk, who was helpful but not optimistic. The courthouse where old paper records were stored had suffered a major flood 20 or so years back, and a lot of documents were lost. But if I sent them proof of my ID they would send someone down to the basement to see what they could find. I did, and thanks be, a couple of weeks later an envelope arrived with a copy of our marriage certificate, stating that Marylou had married Richard on Dec. 23, 1967. And below that our signatures, slightly water-stained but still recognizable.

But — back to Alaska, and Congressman Begich. Consider the difficulty that I, with all my resources, had in obtaining a copy of my marriage certificate. Then imagine a woman of similar age, born maybe in one of Alaska’s many remote towns and village. And let’s say that she’s an Alaska Native, with ancestors going back thousands of years, and that she’s an active member of her community and who has (like me) voted in every election since the state and country deemed her eligible to do so. Somewhere along the line she may have gone through the hassle of obtaining her Alaska ID, because pretty soon she won’t even be able fly to Anchorage without it. But also who — as it happens — has never traveled out of the country and has never obtained a passport. So now she has to produce copies of a both a birth certificate and marriage certificate — which may or may not even exist anymore — just to prove that she’s a citizen of this country?!?

Think this is an extreme case? Well, it’s not. Fifty percent of Americans don’t have a passport, and if they’re poor or of a certain age they may not have easy access to their birth certificate or marriage license. Being an Alaskan Native and having to prove your citizenry is just another added layer of absurdity.

So — back to Congressman Begich. Again. He knows all this. He knows that a sizeable bloc of citizens in his own state will be disproportionately affected by the SAVE Act. But during his very short tenure he has shown himself to be in lockstep with the current administration. But oh — here’s a thought! Begich does not have strong support in the Bush where the additional voting requirements would have the greatest effects. Just saying.

In any event, the ball has now been bounced to the Senate and is in the hands of our Sens. Murkowski and Sullivan. I think we can trust Sen. Murkowski to do the right thing for Alaskans, but Sen. Sullivan not so much. He also seems to be in lockstep with everything the current administration says or does; he also is up for election in two years, and his popularity in the areas most affected by the SAVE Act is waning. Let’s see how he votes on the SAVE Act: NAY because this is just another attempt to disenfranchise marginalized voters in general, and a significant bloc of Alaskan voters in particular? Or YEA because — well, you decide. And then think about it when you vote in November 2026.

Assuming you can provide proof of your citizenship, that is.

Marylou Burton has been a Homer resident for 21 years, an Alaska resident for 48 years, a voter for 59 years, and a U.S. citizen for 77 years.