After a lengthy and occasionally heated meeting on Dec. 6, Alaska’s Public Offices Commission rejected a request by a pro-ranked choice voting group that wanted the state to intervene and halt the nearly completed signature gathering effort of a group that is seeking to repeal ranked-choice voting.
Ranked-choice voting architect Scott Kendall, who provides legal representation for Alaskans for Better Elections, filed the complaint with APOC. He asked for expedited consideration of his complaint, alleging that Alaskans for Honest Elections failed to comply with registration and disclosure requirements in their effort to secure enough signatures to get the repeal question on the November 2024 ballot.
Kendall’s Dec. 4 complaint acknowledges that the anti-ranked choice group, Alaskans for Honest Elections (AHE), is on the cusp of securing the needed signatures, and claims they should be stopped due to an alleged failure to properly disclose that a non-profit group, Wellspring Ministries, is assisting their efforts.
Kendall is the former campaign legal counsel for Sen. Murkowski. He drafted and helped spearhead the ranked choice voting law in Alaska, and now spends considerable time attempting to defend it.
Kendall specifically alleges that ranked-choice opponents used office space from Wellspring Ministries, a faith-based group that owns a building in South Anchorage, where Wellspring Fellowship meets for religious services. The building also has offices, which Wellspring rents out to other tenants. Kendall asserts that AHE is hiding the fact that Wellspring is actively supporting the repeal effort, while AHE claims that renting a room from an organization does not mean the landlord is behind the signature gathering effort.
Kevin Clarkson, who provides legal counsel for the repeal effort, said AHE hired a company – Top Fundraising Solutions – to gather signatures. Top Fundraising then rented office space from Wellspring Ministries.
They could have rented space from “any other landlord in Anchorage,” Clarkson told the Watchman. “If they had … that doesn’t mean the landlord was involved with the campaign. It just means they are renting space to a company that is providing a service to the ballot group, the expense of which was reported.”
Clarkson said the real aim of the complaint is to divert the repeal effort group from gathering signatures.
In rejecting Kendall’s request to expedite his complaint, the commission has allowed Alaskans for Honest Elections to wrap up its signature gathering campaign. The group needs roughly 26,000 signatures from all across the state in order to put the repeal question on next year’s general election ballot. So far, the group claims to have about 30,000 names, which it expects to submit before the end of the year.
If approved by the lieutenant governor, Alaskans will have a chance to do away with the controversial ranked-choice voting system via a statewide vote.
According to the commission’s Dec. 6 decision, it only expedites complaints when there’s “reasonable cause” to believe a violation has occurred or will occur, and where “the alleged violation, if not immediately restrained, could materially affect the outcome of an election or other impending event” or “whether the alleged violation could cause irreparable harm that penalties could not adequately remedy.”
After considering Kendall’s request APOC concluded that, “the violations alleged in this case do not warrant expedited consideration. Rather, the matter would benefit from a full investigation and report from staff.
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The commission won’t take up the matter until February of next year, which essentially gives the repeal group ample time to finish gathering and submitting signatures for the ballot proposal without further interference from Kendall’s group.
Ranked-choice voting passed by 1% of the vote in 2020 and in a new and highly controversial era of ranked choice voting. The novel change also did away with Alaska’s traditional party primaries, a move widely seen to benefit U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whom many believe would never make it out of a Republican primary.
Ranked-choice voting opponents claim that the new scheme fails to meet its promises of increasing voter turnout or diversity, and instead confuses voters by complicating the election process, while undermining traditional majority rule and abolishing party primaries. When used for the first time in 2022, ranked-choice resulted in the lowest voter turnout for a general election since statehood.
20 Comments
Rejecting communism is a beautiful thing.
It’s time Alaska get a handle on another half thought throw liberal idea that only benefits their agenda! Send that ballot my way I’ll sign it if I haven’t already. In all my life I’ve never heard of anything more ludicrous than Rank Choice Voting. If your not good enough to win on your own merit then get out of the game, people don’t want you. Lisa Murkowski, can you hear me now? Yes you used to be a republican and I’ve helped you with the write in vote but you’ve gotten so far away from republican views it’s pathetic. Lisa, you need to get out! Your more of a detriment than good for Alaska. Alaska has many people that can do a way better job than you. Senator Eastman comes to mind. He fights for what’s right and the people he represents. Maybe you need to step back and take a long look at yourself. Alaska needs our senators to represent us not YOURSELF! It’s not about you, it’s about us.
Amen!!
Kendall needs to face a jury for his repeated treason. Come on Alaskans…especially ANCHORAGE – get those signature books filled out and returned! It is up to us Alaskans to show that we do not want rank choice voting and the petitions are one way to do that; the other way is going to be to vote rcv out when we get it on the 2024 election ballot! REPEAL RANK CHOICE VOTING!
Dear Scott: If you have to lie to get what you want, maybe what you want is not worth having. Love, God
Reminder this pos attorney is representing Amy Damboski who according to her was fired unfairly! Amy doesn’t understand that calling a subordinate a “ fu**ing cu** in the workplace is a legitimate reason for her firing!
“APOC concluded that, “the violations alleged in this case do not warrant expedited consideration. Rather, the matter would benefit from a full investigation and report from staff.”
Does this mean that APOC merely kicked the can down the road and, perhaps, took Kendall’s empty mag and told him where to go to reload it?
I caught that also! I agree on the question!
Thank goodness. Answered prayer!
“Rank” choice stinks.
Until electronic ballot machines, mass mailings of ballots and Rigged Choice Voting are all done away with, there will be no more honest elections in this state or any other.
The verge of revolution is imperative!
Dirty voter rolls! Alaska has quite a few people qualified to clean up the voter rolls. This needs to be done AFTER the Soros-backed ERIC system is FIRED.
‘Investigation Finds 131 Percent of Eligible Voters Registered in Washington, DC’
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/investigation-finds-131-percent-eligible-voters-registered-washington/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=investigation-finds-131-percent-eligible-voters-registered-washington
There’s only one problem, dunleavy is a communist sympathizer!
Praying that ranked choice voting is made a bad memory. Ranked choice voting is no good, does not represent our America can values. Let’s return to honest voting.
let’s get it done, Now, let’s put an end to mail in ballots, electronic counting, and continue with voter Id.
With Lisa it use to be about Alaska and half-heartedly representing Alaskan Republicans. That all changed in 2016 when Trump showed up. He identified wimpy Republicans as RHINO’S and labeled Lisa as an official RHINO. Not like the original RHINO’s who were anyone who wasn’t a Reagan conservative. Trump identified and targeted her for termination. She didn’t like that. With her true political nature exposed she went on a hate Trump crusade, which just proved Trumps point. Once exposed her political career began dissolving so she stepped out on a ledge and began using democratic sneak and cheat tactics. RCV is just her latest “hail-Mary” attempt to continue pilfering millions in donations for her retirement. Nobody is going to talk her in off the ledge she is now on. The political winds are trying hard to blow her off that ledge but she’s hanging on with a death-grip while staring below. She can‘t come in and she can’t jump. Poor, poor Lisa. What on earth is she gonna do?
She has the support of people like Mike pacarro. Conservative fraudsters who is also associated with dunleavy!
follow the $$$
Unveiling the Donor Money in Wisconsin Rank Choice Voting Senate Hearing
https://rumble.com/v41cprn-unveiling-the-donor-money-in-wisconsin-rank-choice-voting-senate-hearing.html