Dozens of people flooded the Midtown Division of Elections office this afternoon to register as write-in candidates for Tuesday’s U.S. Senate election. Many said the effort is meant to protest an order by the Alaska Supreme Court yesterday allowing a list of write-in candidates to be shown to voters who ask for assistance.

The Anchorage office received 56 Senate write-in applications — in person or by fax — in just 45 minutes, said election clerk Raymond McAndrews shortly before 5 p.m.

KFQD 750 AM radio host Dan Fagan, a backer of Republican nominee Joe Miller, has been urging voters to sign up in an act of “civil disobedience” — defying what he calls an illegal effort by the state.

Murkowski’s name, which must be spelled properly for votes to count, will now be on a very, very long list.

So the people have an answer to Alaska’s powerful oligarchy, whose strength was demonstrated by the court decision. This citizen involvement might help Miller, but he hasn’t been doing much lately to help himself.