Announcements

Dear Tribal Members:

The Ugashik Traditional Village Council (UTVC) office has received several questions concerning the Annual election process. 

The last several years, UTVC has implemented a process that ensures your vote remains private.  A letter is sent to the voting members (18 years of age or older) announcing the  seats are up for reelection, along with the instructions on how to vote.

Please note that all candidates are subject to a background check before being put on the ballot and the Ugashik Constitution states that a council member cannot have a felony record. See below:

Article VI Section 3. Forfeiture

Any Tribal member who is convicted of a felony by state or federal courts or ceases to be a Tribal Member of the Ugashik Traditional Village Council shall automatically forfeit his or her office.

This election letter includes the ballot and an unmarked, blank envelope to put your ballot in after you have voted.  You will be instructed to seal it and send it to the Anchorage Tribal office.  If you live in Ugashik, you can drop it off at the community center, to the Community Liaison.  They will ensure that it is properly placed in a secure area until the day of the election.

The sealed ballot envelopes are not opened until the annual meeting and only by the election committee.  If you are interested in being on the election committee, please contact the office at 907-338-7611.  As the envelopes containing the sealed ballots are received, a sign-off sheet is created to record receipt of their ballots and to verify the voters are tribal members. 

The Ugashik Constitution provides for staggered terms to ensure that a full council does not have to be reelected each time.  This provides consistency on the council.  The UTVC has 5 council seats.  All are three-year terms.  This year, UTVC has two council seats up for reelection.  Once the council has been elected, it is the responsibility of the council to vote for the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Member at Large.  This action is conducted after the annual meeting.

You have the opportunity to vote in person at the annual meeting or you may mail in your absentee ballot.  A Tribal member may recast their ballot ONLY in person and at the annual meeting.  To do this, you need to contract the election officer, he or she will then pull you ballot to nullify it.  It will remain sealed and signed by the election officer that it is nullified.  The election officer will then give you a new ballot.  This process will be provided at the annual meeting in more detail.

We hope this information has provided the needed answers to the questions concerning the election process.  If still unclear, please feel free to contract Alex Tatum, Tribal Manager with your questions.

Most of all, please take the opportunity to VOTE.  Your input is important to the success of our village leadership.  We hope to see you at the annual meeting this summer.   Don’t forget we have UTV’s website; feel free to give suggestions on what you would like to see on it.  The UTV website is ugashikvillage.com.