In the remote Alaska Native village of Beaver, nestled 40 minutes by plane from the nearest city, the approximately 50 residents depend heavily on weekday flights for essential services. These flights bring everything from mail to groceries and even household items ordered through Amazon.

In Alaska, the largest state in the U.S., air travel is indispensable, connecting communities throughout the year. Planes are also vital during elections, ensuring that voting materials and ballots reach rural precincts like Beaver. They facilitate mail-in voting for thousands of Alaskans, especially in areas without in-person polling stations.

The sheer size and isolation of many Alaskan communities set the state apart, drawing significant attention to a U.S. Supreme Court case that commenced on Monday. This case could have profound implications for Alaska’s voting processes.

Residents are concerned about a Mississippi case that questions whether ballots arriving after Election Day should be counted in federal elections. This ruling could threaten Alaska’s allowance for counting ballots postmarked by Election Day but received within a 10-day window, or 15 days for overseas voters in general elections.

“We’ve maintained these procedures for a long time to ensure every vote is counted,” said Rhonda Pitka, a poll worker and first chief in Beaver, located 110 miles (177 kilometers) north of Fairbanks along the Yukon River.

If the court decides ballots in all states must be received by Election Day, she said, “They’ll be disenfranchising thousands of people — thousands of people in these rural communities. It’s just basically saying that their votes don’t count, and that’s a real shame.”

Some ballots already arrive late

Alaska is one of 14 states that allow all mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive days or weeks later and be counted, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Voting Rights Lab. An additional 15 provide grace periods for military and overseas ballots.

But Alaska’s geography, weather and great distances between communities — Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas, the nation’s second-largest state — raise the stakes for voters. The unusual way the state counts its votes also makes a grace period important, advocates say.

Under Alaska’s ranked-choice system for general elections, workers in small rural precincts call in voters’ first choices to a regional election office. All ballots, however, ultimately are flown to the state Division of Elections in the capital, Juneau. There, the races not won outright are tabulated to determine a winner.

Even with Alaska’s current 10-day grace period, ballots from some villages in 2022 were not fully counted because of mail delays. They arrived too late for tabulations in Juneau, 15 days after Election Day.

If the Supreme Court rules that ballots cannot be counted if they arrive at election offices after Election Day, scores of Alaska voters could be affected. About 50,000 Alaskans voted by mail in the 2024 presidential election.

“I think there’s probably no other state where this ruling could have a more detrimental impact than ours,” Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski said in an interview.

Murkowski sees the case — a challenge by the Republican National Committee and others to Mississippi’s allowance of late-arriving ballots — as an effort to end voting by mail nationwide.

‘Seeing a level of voter intimidation’

The RNC argues such grace periods improperly extend elections for federal office, but Mississippi responded that no voting occurs after Election Day — only the delivery and counting of already completed ballots.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments as the U.S. Senate is debating legislation being pushed by President Donald Trump that would require people to show proof-of-citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot.

Taken together, Murkowski said such efforts could discourage people from voting.

“I think we’re seeing a level of voter intimidation, I’ll just say it,” she said. “I feel very, very strongly that the effort that we should be making at the federal level is to do all that we can to make our elections accessible, fair and transparent for every lawful voter out there.”

Alaska’s other congressional members, Rep. Nick Begich and Sen. Dan Sullivan, both Republican allies of Trump who are seeking reelection this year, support the SAVE America Act now before the Senate. But they also said they want to ensure that ballots properly cast on or before Election Day get counted.

“We’ll see what the courts choose to do on that issue, but I do think that we need to allow for time for ballots to come in from the rural parts of our state,” Begich said during a recent visit to Juneau.

Alaska officials highlight challenges to the court

A court filing in the Mississippi case by Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox and Solicitor General Jenna Lorence did not take sides but outlined geographic and logistical challenges to holding elections in Alaska.

In Atqasuk, on Alaska’s North Slope, poll workers counted votes on election night in 2024, tallies they would normally relay by phone to election division officials. But the filing said they could not get through and “chose what they saw as the next best solution — they placed the ballots and tally sheets into a secure package and mailed them to the Division, who did not receive them until nine days later.”

The filing seeks clarity from the Supreme Court, particularly around what it means for ballots to be received by Election Day.

While it is clear when a ballot is cast, “when certain ballots are actually ‘received’ is open to different interpretations, especially given the connectivity challenges for Alaska’s far-flung boroughs,” Cox and Lorence wrote.

Effect on Native voters

Lawyers with the Native American Rights Fund and Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center said in filings with the court that limited postal service in rural areas means that some ballots might not be postmarked until they reach Anchorage or Juneau, which can take days.

In the 2022 general election, between 55% and 78% of absentee ballots from the state House districts spanning from the Aleutian Islands up the western coast to the vast North Slope arrived at an election office after Election Day, they wrote. Statewide, about 20% of all absentee ballots in that election were received after Election Day.

Requiring ballots to be received by Election Day, they warned, would “disproportionately disenfranchise” Alaska Native voters. The lawyers represent the National Congress of American Indians, Native Vote Washington and the Alaska Federation of Natives.

Michelle Sparck, director of Get Out the Native Vote, a nonpartisan voting rights advocacy group affiliated with the Alaska Federation of Natives, worries about creating confusion and fear among voters.

She sees the case before the Supreme Court and the Republican SAVE Act as “a multipronged attempt to take control or wrest control of elections away from states.” Alaska, she said, already has enough inherent barriers for many voters.

“There is a minute record of election fraud — not at the rate that requires this heavy-handed response through the legislature and the Supreme Court,” she said.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor made a rare public appearance yesterday, stepping out for a solo dog walk around Sandringham for the first time since his arrest.

The 66-year-old, formerly a prince, appeared alone as he strolled through the countryside near Wood Farm in Norfolk, where he’s currently residing. His walk lasted about 90 minutes.

This marks the first sighting of Andrew in nearly a month. Previously, he was spotted slumped in the back of a Range Rover, trying unsuccessfully to dodge photographers after leaving a Norfolk police station.

The ex-Duke of York was released while under investigation after spending 11 hours in police custody, facing allegations of misconduct in public office.

Earlier this week, a significant number of removal boxes marked with ‘HRH’ were delivered to his new residence, suggesting that Andrew is still holding onto his royal title.

King Charles stripped his brother of his royal title last November in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. 

The boxes were clearly marked ‘HRH office’, ‘HRH sitting room’ and even ‘HRH meeting room’, as they arrived at the five-bedroom house, suggesting Andrew continues to use the honorific behind closed door. 

The haul, transported by royal-approved removals firm Gander & White on Friday, included clothes, antiques and books – some marked fragile – as the shamed royal completes his forced relocation. 

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor yesterday broke cover for the first time since his arrest as he took a solo dog walk around Sandringham

The disgraced former prince cut a solitary figure as he roamed the countryside for 90 minutes near his Marsh Farm home in Norfolk

It is the first picture of Andrew since he was seen slumped in the rear of a Range Rover four weeks ago in a futile attempt to avoid photographers as he was driven from a Norfolk police station

Andrew is currently holed up at Wood Farm, where he had kept out of sight since returning from a police station following his arrest on February 19. 

The move to Marsh Farm follows his eviction from Royal Lodge in Windsor by his brother, Charles, with the Norfolk bolthole hastily upgraded in recent days.

Security fencing, CCTV, broadband and Sky TV have all been installed, alongside new flooring, carpets and extensive decorating, with further work carried out on the grounds.

Gander & White, which has the slogan ‘custodians of the irreplaceable,’ specialises in transporting fine art and counts the National Portrait Gallery among its prestigious clients.

Meanwhile, The Mail on Sunday today revealed cash-strapped Sarah Ferguson was involved in talks to clone the late Queen’s beloved corgis for an extraordinary reality TV show.

Described by Hollywood producers as a ‘bold and controversial business venture’, the tasteless idea would have involved the former Duchess of York trying to make money by selling the genetically replicated corgis ‘to other dog lovers around the world’.

Pet cloning is highly contentious, with experts warning it can produce horrible abnormalities.

But it can be lucrative, with cloned dogs typically selling for up to £75,000 in the US, where the process is legal.

In May 2023, Fergie was seeking ways to leverage what little remained of her royal status, when the idea of monetising the corgis, Muick and Sandy, was floated. She was entrusted with their care following the Queen’s death eight months earlier.

After speaking to a number of TV companies in the US she met executives from Halcyon Studios in Los Angeles for a series of lunches and dinners.

Andrew is still clinging to his royal styling – with removal boxes stamped ‘HRH’ delivered to his new home on the Sandringham estate on Friday

Hundreds of boxes arrived at five-bedroom Marsh Farm in Norfolk – many clearly labelled ‘HRH office’

Among the items spotted was a copy of My Life on Mars by Colin Pillinger, detailing the ill-fated Beagle 2 mission

Marsh Farm is now surrounded by new fences and other security such as CCTV ahead of Andrew’s move

‘She was pushing to get back into TV and make some money,’ said a source. ‘She came up with the idea of featuring the Queen’s corgis in a show. And that included the idea of breeding them. Bizarre as it sounds, the idea of cloning them was discussed.’

While it is not legal in the UK for a company to produce replica animals, other than in research settings, it is legal to send a skin sample from an animal to the US for cloning.

Ms Ferguson’s whereabouts are unknown. She went into hiding after her own close friendship with the convicted paedophile was exposed, and is now under pressure to give evidence in the US.

On Saturday night a spokesman for Ms Ferguson said: ‘Sarah Ferguson never progressed any discussions with Halcyon Studios, which were engineered by others, and withdrew from them of her own accord.

‘She listens to TV proposals all the time but that doesn’t mean she is going to go through with them. If she had briefly seemed enthusiastic, that is just who Sarah is. Sarah never had any intention of monetising the corgis.

‘She had been looking at doing a TV show about dogs for many years, long before she had the corgis and long before she was introduced to Halcyon Studios.

‘She owns other types of dogs also. Any resulting show would never have been about the corgis alone.’

Andrew and Fergie’s son-in-law is said to be standing by his wife Princess Eugenie’s amid the ensuing Epstein scandal. 

Jack Brooksbank’s ‘code of honour’ means that the loyal businessman will not ‘completely desert Andrew and Sarah’ but he has refused to ‘step into the line of fire himself’, a close source revealed to the Daily Mail.

‘His first loyalty has to be to his wife and their two young children. The whole sordid affair has already brought them a great deal of unwarranted attention and he won’t do anything to increase that,’ they added.

It comes as Eugenie and Jack’s relationship with the Royal Family has faced renewed scrutiny amid the unfolding scandal involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and ex-wife Fergie’s controversial ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Now, Jack, 39, a former barman and owner of profitable AEB Consultants Ltd, is said to be concerned about the impact the damning revelations could have on his livelihood, with fears that both he and Eugenie will become ‘tainted by association’.

‘Jack has worked very hard building his business, and it’s going well so the last thing he needs is for the Epstein scandal to taint that. He will do everything he can to keep his head below the parapet because of that,’ they revealed.

The Mail on Sunday today revealed Sarah Ferguson was seeking ways to leverage what little remained of her royal status, when the idea of monetising the Queen’s corgis was floated in May 2023 

The late Queen pictured with her beloved corgis in 1980. The Queen bequeathed two corgis to Ms Ferguson in her will

Princess Eugenie’s husband Jack Brooksbank is said to be standing by his wife amid the ensuing Epstein scandal – but refuses to allow disgraced Sarah Ferguson to move into the family home. Pictured: Jack, Eugenie and their two children, August and Ernest 

Meanwhile, Eugenie, 35, and her husband are also said to be fearful that the storm clouds engulfing the former Duchess of York could see Fergie ask to move in with them – a prospect the couple would not relish.

‘Eugenie and Jack are resisting any suggestion from her mother that she should come and live with them. Because to be frank Sarah is difficult to live with and they don’t want the responsibility of looking after her at the moment.

‘That’s not to say they are not concerned about her welfare – they just don’t actually want her to be living with them, even temporarily,’ a second source declared.

Andrew faces explosive allegations that he shared sensitive information with paedophile financier Epstein during his time as special representative for international trade and investment.

Sources had claimed his daily routine since his arrest had shrunk to little more than tea and Abernethy biscuits each morning.

Until the tumultuous events of the past few weeks days, he was alleged to have been contemplating fleeing to either Bahrain or Abu Dhabi where he could still expect the warmest of welcomes and enjoy hugely lucrative financial connections.

And the Daily Mail was told exclusively by a royal source that his early morning arrest last month came following an urgent tip-off to a senior courtier that ‘Andrew was getting his passport ready for a midnight flit’ and might be about to hoof it to the Middle East on a private jet, most likely to Bahrain which does not have a formal extradition treaty with the UK.

But with bombs and missiles falling across the region daily, any lingering hopes of reinventing himself among the Arab elite appear to have gone up in multiple puffs of smoke.

The US-Israel war against Iran also looks set to affect the movements of his ex-wife and their daughters, who have all built connections in the region.

‘This is a huge blow to all of them,’ a close family friend told the Daily Mail. ‘There is no way any of them are going to go to the Gulf and Middle East region for a long time to come. It is far too dangerous for them, just as it is for everybody else.’