With America's democratic experiment mired in division and dysfunction, the state of Alaska votes to revolutionize their election system. The surprising results spark new alliances, a growing call for election reform, and fierce pushback from political parties. Could changing how Americans vote also change politics for the better?
Mary Sattler Peltola (née Sattler; born August 31, 1973) is an American politician and former tribal judge serving as the U.S. representative from Alaska's at-large congressional district since September 2022. She previously served as a judge on the Orutsararmiut Native Council's tribal court, executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Bethel city councillor and member of the Alaska House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, Peltola defeated former Governor Sarah Palin and Alaska Policy Forum board member Nick Begich in an upset in the August 2022 special election to succeed Don Young, who died in March that year. In doing so, she became the first Alaska Native member of Congress and the only Russian Orthodox, as well as the first woman ever to represent Alaska in the House, the first person to have been born in Alaska to serve in the House, and first Democrat since Nick Begich Sr. in 1972. She was reelected to a full term in the regularly scheduled election in November 2022. As of 2023, Peltola is the only Democrat holding statewide office in Alaska.
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