Doyle Holmes' election challenge heard by borough attorney

On Thursday night, Mat-Su Borough Attorney Nicholas Spiropoulos presided over a three-hour hearing on candidate Doyle Holmes’ challenge of the borough election. Holmes is challenging based on the handling of Talkeetna’s ballots after the voting machine at the precinct broke down some time in the late afternoon of election day. The ballots were taken to Houston, where a functioning machine was used to count them. Holmes’ challenge says that it was a violation of borough election code for the sealed ballot containers to be in the possession of just one person, which happened at least twice during the process.

At Thursday’s hearing, Nicholas Spiropoulos asked Holmes on whether he believed that the ballots had been tampered with. When Holmes didn’t answer the question directly, the borough attorney pressed him.

Holmes: “I’m asking you—prove to me that those ballots could not have been tampered with. There is a possibility that they could have, and if they were that would definitely introduce a bias.”

Spiropoulos: “And you think they were.”

Holmes: “The possibility exists.”

Spiropoulos: “Do you think they were?”

Holmes: “Yes.”

Spiropoulos: “By whom?”

Holmes: “I have no idea.”

The rest of the hearing consisted of questions from Nicholas Spiropoulos and Doyle Holmes to the Talkeetna election officials, the Canvass Board, and the clerks for the borough and the City of Houston.

A report to the assembly is scheduled for Tuesday night’s regular meeting.