APOC turns down request for expedited hearing
Alaskans for Better Elections sought emergency action against Alaskans for Honest Elections
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - There is a new development in the ongoing fight between two groups on opposite sides of Alaska’s ranked choice voting debate.
The group favoring ranked choice voting — Alaskans for Better Elections — filed an emergency request for action against Alaskans for Honest Elections, a group gathering signatures to place the issue on the ballot again in 2024.
That group is seeking signatures statewide to force the issue of ranked-choice voting back before voters in 2024. Ranked choice voting was initially approved by Alaska voters in a close election in 2020.
The new complaint was filed Monday afternoon with the Alaska Public Office Commission.
The original complaints claimed Alaskans for Honest Elections has not been honest about financial and administrative ties between the group and an Anchorage church, Wellspring Ministries.
Last month, APOC announced that the final decision on those original allegations would not come until no later than Jan. 5.
But Alaskans for Better Elections on Monday said it has new affidavits and audio recordings showing that entities affiliated with Wellspring Ministries are supporting the effort in violation of state regulations and that Wellspring officials perjured themselves in earlier testimony by denying the support.
The new filing states that “Wellspring entities have — despite their false denials — been providing staff and a headquarters for the signature petition drive without registering or reporting as required by law.”
Alaskans for Better Elections asked for expedited consideration of the new complaint as well as fines against Alaskans for Honest Elections.
Wellspring Ministries and Alaskans for Honest Elections have testified in the past that any mistakes made in filings were unintentional and partially the result of bad advice from APOC staff.
Kevin Clarkson, an attorney representing Alaskans for Honest Elections and Wellspring Ministries, calls the latest filing “pure harassment.”
“It’s a confused bunch of allegations being thrown around to confuse the issue,” Clarkson says.
He says Wellspring did nothing wrong in renting space to a company providing a service to Alaskans for Honest Elections.
But Wednesday evening, APOC declined to call for an expedited hearing and instead asked APOC staff to conduct a full investigation and report back for a likely February hearing. APOC also insisted Alaskans for Honest Elections continue operations until then, in case any fines are levied against them. The ruling allows the organization to continue gathering signatures in its effort to get ranked choice voting back on the ballot in 2024.
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