O’Keefe video shows Alaska poll workers offering ballots in names of Murkowski’s brother, state director without ID

By THE ALASKA STORY

Aug. 20, 2026 – An undercover video released by James O’Keefe has exposed Alaska’s weak election safeguards, after Anchorage poll workers appeared willing to provide ballots in the names of two people closely connected to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, without requiring identification.

The video, recorded during Alaska’s Aug. 18 primary election and published Thursday by O’Keefe Media Group, shows O’Keefe visiting polling locations, while wearing a medical mask, and giving election workers the names of Murkowski’s brother Brian Murkowski, and the senator’s Alaska state director, Karina Waller.

In both encounters, the workers located the named voter in the registration system and appeared prepared to let O’Keefe proceed with voting.

At one location, O’Keefe asked whether it would be possible to vote without identification.

“Absolutely possible,” a poll worker responded. “You can vote if you’d like to.” O’Keefe is a resident of Florida.

The workers assured O’Keefe that he could receive a ballot even though he did not present identification. At another point in the footage, an election worker was heard saying, “We’re trying to figure this out,” referring to the voting system.

O’Keefe did not cast a ballot in either person’s name. The video documents how far he was allegedly allowed to move through the check-in process before stopping the encounter and revealing what he was doing.

The video expose a vulnerability that could allow someone to obtain another registered voter’s ballot merely by supplying a name and confirming information verbally.

BREAKING NEWS: O'Keefe Offered Senator Lisa Murkowski's Brother Ballot at Alaskan Polling Location With No ID Required

Anchorage Polling Worker Also Offers Lisa Murkowski’s State Director, Karina Waller's Ballot Without ID on August 18th, Primary Election Day

Murkowski Opposes… pic.twitter.com/ewC7LdTM9R

— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) August 20, 2026

Alaska law generally requires a voter to present identification before receiving a regular ballot. Acceptable documents include a voter registration card, driver’s license, state identification card, passport, birth certificate, hunting or fishing license, or certain government and financial documents bearing the voter’s name and current address.

An election official may waive the requirement if the worker personally knows the voter. Someone who cannot provide the required identification is ordinarily permitted to vote a questioned ballot, which is reviewed before it can be counted.

Nothing in O’Keefe’s footage indicated the poll workers personally knew him as either Michael Murkowski or Karina Waller.

The video immediately put Murkowski’s national position on voter documentation under renewed scrutiny. Murkowski has opposed the federal SAVE America Act, legislation intended to require documentary proof of US citizenship for voter registration and identification before voting in federal elections.

Murkowski has argued that stricter documentary requirements could disenfranchise eligible voters, particularly Alaska Natives and residents of remote communities who may face difficulty obtaining or producing the required records.

“While disenfranchisement may not be the intent of the SAVE America Act, there are thousands of Alaskans who stand to be disenfranchised should it become law,” Murkowski said earlier this year while explaining her opposition.

The senator responded to O’Keefe’s Election Day operation through her spokesman by calling for prosecution of anyone impersonating another at the polls, turning the focus from the conduct of election workers to the journalist who tested the system.

But the footage presents Alaska election officials with questions that cannot be answered simply by investigating O’Keefe.

Why did workers apparently offer regular ballots to an unknown person who provided no identification? Were the workers following Division of Elections training? Would the electronic pollbook have provided any additional protection if O’Keefe had signed another voter’s name? And how many ballots may be distributed under similar circumstances when no camera is recording?

The Alaska Division of Elections recruits and trains hundreds of temporary workers to staff polling locations across the state. Those workers are responsible for confirming voter eligibility, operating election equipment and processing both regular and questioned ballots.

O’Keefe’s video suggests at least some workers may not have understood — or may not have followed — the state’s identification requirements on Election Day.

The incident is especially striking because both names used in the operation belong to people with direct ties to Murkowski. Michael Murkowski is the senator’s brother, while Waller serves as one of her highest-ranking Alaska staff members.

The apparent ease with which an unfamiliar man was offered their ballots will likely add fuel to the long-running debate over voter identification and public confidence in Alaska’s election system.

Murkowski has argued that documentation requirements create barriers to voting. O’Keefe’s investigation raises the opposite concern: whether Alaska’s safeguards are strong enough to ensure that every ballot is given to the person legally entitled to cast it.

The complete O’Keefe Media Group video can be viewed here.

The Alaska Division of Elections had not publicly announced any investigation or corrective action in response to the footage at the time of publication.