Wake Up, Alaska!
Contributed by Richard Howes
Wake up, Alaska and research for yourselves the facts about Proposition 2 on the November ballot. It was lower 48 organizations that were the heavy funders behind getting ranked-choice-voting in Alaska. Now they are the heavy funders behind keeping it in Alaska. Notice the “No on 2” commercials focus on open primaries and make no mention of the ranked-choice voting. They know that the vast majority of Alaskans do not like the ranked-choice-voting.
Look at the volume of commercials, you know that requires a whole lot of money. Lower 48 money trying to control our elections. “No on 2” top contributors: Unite America, Denver, CO; Action Now Initiative, Houston, TX and Final Five Fund, Chicago, IL.
The “No on 2” are running misleading or out and out lying, you decide, commercials about our military and veterans in reference to Proposition 2. The commercials show a new voter registration form that is not even the Alaska registration form. The block they emphasize as they say that service members and veterans are “FORCED” to choose a party is actually located on the back of the Alaskan form and contains additional options that are contrary to what the “No on 2” are saying. People registering (including military and veterans) can also elect to select “Nonpartisan” and “UNDECLARED.” Does that sound like anyone is being “FORCED” to choose a party?
I served in the Alaska National Guard and the regular Army. Most of that time, I was “undeclared.” When I went in to vote, I just told them which ballot I wanted for that primary. I would get the one that contained who I wanted to vote for. An undeclared person could vote on the Democrat primary one time and the Republican the next, their option, their CHOICE!
Go to https://www.elections.alaska.gov/doc/forms/H42.pdf and look at our past elections and you will see the truth. In 2020, 2018, 2016, etc., read who could vote on the specific ballots. Nonpartisan and Undeclared could vote on either ballot, their choice. Like all Alaskans, our military and veterans do NOT HAVE TO CHOOSE A PARTY, just a ballot.
There are mailings that are going out pushing the same “veterans must choose” message by Veterans for All Voters (another lower 48 organization). They say right on the mailers, that Veterans for All Voters endorses “No on 2.”
Proposition 2 of 2024 takes things back to the way they were before the Proposition 2 of the 2020 election roped us into Rank-choice voting. Interestingly, if you run a search on Google for Alaska Proposition 2 you will get a ton of information but be careful, the vast majority of it is pertaining to the 2020 version. You need to be specific, run the search for 2024 Alaska Proposition 2 to see the current information.
Vote YES on Proposition 2 in November. Show the lower 48ers that Alaskans want our elections our way, not theirs. We do not want Ranked choice voting like they do in San Francisco and other places.