It Is (Finally!) Here…Exercise Your Right, Alaska!

November 3, 2020

2020 has been a challenging political year for Alaskans.  A year that started with Legislative disarray was further impacted by COVID-19 and, more recently, a deluge of political hijinks during the campaign season.

But today marks the end of the race.  For the 150,000+ Alaskans who have already cast their ballots, today might seem anti-climactic.  For those of us who have yet to do so, today is the Super Bowl of the political season.

Power The Future isn’t going to tell you who to vote for, but we will remind you what’s at stake in Alaska:

• More than one-quarter of us working in the private sector have our jobs directly or indirectly paid for by the oil and gas that flows out of the ground in Cook Inlet or on the North Slope. 

• 67% of private-sector revenues for the State of Alaska – $1.1 billion of the $1.6 billion – comes from oil and gas taxes and royalty payments. 

• Exploration last spring was shut down early, and much of this winter’s was already gutted, due to a combination of COVID-19 and market forces.  Additional pressure on the oil and gas industry to contribute more revenue will force oil and gas producers to consider whether to spend exploration dollars elsewhere.

• The largest oil and gas prospects for our state are located within the federal lands of NPR-A and ANWR; two areas that one group of candidates have declared will be off-limits to exploration if they’re elected.

Please consider these facts as you exercise your fundamental American right to vote today.  Families working in the oil and gas industry are counting on you.  Alaska is counting on you.  America is counting on you.