June 15, 2020 •
Alaska Supreme Court Approves Election Reform Ballot Measure
The Alaska Supreme Court unanimously ruled an election reform initiative can appear on the November Ballot.
The court upheld a lower court decision confirming the legality of a proposed ballot measure.
This will be imposing ranked choice voting, nonpartisan primary elections, and tough new rules on campaign finance disclosure.
In August of 2019, Attorney General Kevin Clarkson released an opinion stating the election reform initiative was unconstitutional under the single subject rule.
On his advice, the Division of Elections attempted to block the Better Elections committee from gathering signatures to put the issue on the ballot.
However, Superior Court Judge Yvonne Lamoureux ruled Clarkson’s analysis was incorrect.
Additionally she ordered the state to issue signature booklets and continue the certification process as the state appealed to the Supreme Court.
If approved by voters, the ballot measure would require additional reporting requirements for large donations to political campaigns.
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