An undercover video from conservative activist James O’Keefe shows an Alaska poll worker offering a ballot tied to Senator Lisa Murkowski’s own brother without checking identification.
Story Snapshot
- James O’Keefe released undercover footage from Alaska’s August 18 primary showing poll workers in Anchorage and voting access details in Unalaska.
- An Anchorage poll worker reportedly offered a ballot under the name of Murkowski’s brother, and another offered a ballot tied to her state director, without checking ID.
- A separate clip shows a Unalaska worker saying residents can get an ID locally, seeming to push back on Murkowski’s claim that the SAVE America Act would force costly trips to Anchorage.
- O’Keefe says no ballots were actually cast, and Murkowski has publicly said she supports voter ID but opposes the broader SAVE America Act.
- Critics note O’Keefe reportedly misrepresented himself during the operation, and past undercover videos from his network have been investigated and found not to show fraud.
What The Video Shows In Anchorage
O’Keefe’s team recorded interactions at Anchorage polling sites during Alaska’s August 18 primary. In the footage, poll workers confirmed names linked to Murkowski’s brother and her state director, Karina Waller, then offered ballots after visitors said they had no identification. O’Keefe’s group says no ballots were actually cast during the exchanges.
A second Gateway Pundit report says a poll worker responded, “I did not check in a [ballot],” when questioned about the exchange tied to Murkowski’s brother’s name. The clips do not show anyone voting under a false identity, but they do show workers willing to hand over a ballot before confirming who was actually standing in front of them.
The Unalaska Identification Claim
A separate part of the video focuses on Unalaska, a remote Aleutian community. O’Keefe asked a Department of Motor Vehicles worker, “We don’t have to go to Anchorage to get an ID?” The worker replied, “No, you can come here”. A local resident added that voting happens at City Hall and that residents don’t need to travel to Anchorage to register or get identification.
That directly challenges a claim Murkowski has made publicly. She warned that the SAVE America Act, which requires in-person proof of citizenship to register and photo identification to vote, could force an eighteen-year-old in Unalaska to spend more than one thousand dollars flying to a registration office. Alaska’s Division of Elections says voter identification cards can be updated, replaced, or newly issued through regional election offices, not just in Anchorage.
Murkowski’s Position And Pushback
Murkowski was the only Republican senator to vote against opening debate on the SAVE America Act, calling it disenfranchising for rural communities. On social media, she said, “I support voter ID and believe that only U.S. citizens should vote in our elections. But the SAVE America Act goes beyond that and provides no time for proper implementation”.
Critics argue her travel-cost warning overstates the problem. A Washington Examiner column noted the bill sets no limit on how many locations can accept citizenship documents and that federal law already requires every driver’s license office to double as a voter registration site. Alaska also has six regional election offices spread across the state, including in Nome and Kenai, not just Anchorage.
Questions About O’Keefe’s Methods
O’Keefe’s operation has drawn its own scrutiny. One report says he identified himself to poll workers as Murkowski’s brother, a claim that raises questions about how the footage was obtained. The Brennan Center for Justice has criticized undercover sting videos broadly, saying secret recordings under false pretenses can produce misleading clips and risk intimidating eligible voters rather than proving fraud.
Brian Murkowski doesn't even live in Alaska any more. But his name is still on the ballot. And the poll workers agreed to let James O' Keefe
vote as Brian Murkowski.And now, Senator Murkowski, who keeps finding fault with the SAVE Act as an excuse to refuse to voe for it;… https://t.co/kuOXOMxnL5
— Rohini deSilva (@Rohini_DeSilva) August 23, 2026
That skepticism has a track record behind it. Wisconsin’s Department of Justice previously reviewed undercover recordings from O’Keefe’s network tied to the 2016 election and found no crimes were committed. Whether this new footage holds up to similar scrutiny remains an open question, but the clips have already reignited a national fight over voter identification rules that shows no sign of cooling down before the next election cycle.
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, rawstory.com, particle.news, elections.alaska.gov, thefederalist.com, alaskanews.com, alaskapublic.org, x.com, fec.gov
© unitedfrontnews.com 2026. All rights reserved.
