A voter joins a line of voters waiting to cast their ballots on Aug. 15, 2022, at the state Division of Elections office in Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

A voter joins a line of voters waiting to cast their ballots on Aug. 15, 2022, at the state Division of Elections office in Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

New ballot measure seeks to restrict spending on Alaska elections

A group that brought ranked-choice voting to Alaska is now seeking to restrict big money campaign donations after a federal appeals court erased the state’s prior limits.

Alaskans for Better Elections submitted a proposed ballot measure to the Alaska Division of Elections in early May. If approved by the division, and if the group gathers sufficient signatures, Alaskans will be asked in 2024 whether they want to limit the amount of money a donor can give to a politician running for office.

The proposal, modeled after a bill from Rep. Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, would prohibit someone from directly giving more than $2,000 per election cycle to an individual candidate’s campaign or more than $5,000 a year to a political party or other group.

Sponsors of the measure said they hoped that the Alaska Legislature would impose new limits after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Alaska’s old limits, some of the lowest in the country, in 2021.

But lawmakers failed to act before the 2022 election, which went ahead with no limits. As a result, some wealthy donors gave more than $100,000 apiece to candidates in last year’s governor’s election.

Under the prior rules, those donors would have had to contribute to third-party groups that are prohibited from coordinating with candidates.

Instead, donors were able to give directly to candidates. A similar lack of restrictions will be in place during the 2024 state election as well.

The 9th Circuit decision ruled against Alaska’s old campaign finance limits on free-speech grounds, but the justices suggested that higher limits might be constitutional.

The proposed ballot measure includes limits four times higher than the old law, and it adjusts the limit upward each year to account for inflation.

Alaska’s prior campaign finance limits were installed in a wildly popular 2006 ballot measure that was backed by 73% of participating voters.

Scott Kendall, the Anchorage attorney who wrote Alaska’s ranked-choice voting ballot measure, is the lead author behind the new campaign finance measure as well.

“I don’t think an actual campaign would be that difficult,” he said, citing the prior result and unpublished new polling.

If their initiative is certified — something expected before July 4 because of a timeline in state law — supporters would have one year to get the signatures of 26,705 registered Alaska voters spread across the state. Only then would the measure appear on either the August primary or November general election ballot.

Another proposed ballot measure is already gathering signatures. That measure proposes to repeal Alaska’s ranked-choice voting and open-primary electoral system.

• James Brooks is a longtime Alaska reporter, having previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. This article originally appeared online at alaskabeacon.com. Alaska Beacon, an affiliate of States Newsroom, is an independent, nonpartisan news organization focused on connecting Alaskans to their state government.

More in News

The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ships in port for the week of June 15

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2025 schedule.… Continue reading

Paul Myers takes a business phone call while stopped in Haines on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Staying connected on the Columbia

The fastest and largest vessel in the fleet is testing public Wi-Fi

Sunlight gleams through the Tongass National Forest in Juneau on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Trump land sale plan draws protest in Sitka

Sitka residents are mounting a strong response to a draft provision of… Continue reading

In this still image from a video provided to the Alaska Beacon, the cruise ship Celebrity Edge (at right) is seen drifting toward the Carnival Luminosa (at left). Three other cruise ships are seen moored to the Juneau docks. (Video screenshot)
Coast Guard investigates storm-caused near-collision between two cruise ships in Juneau

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a near-collision between two cruise ships… Continue reading

A ferry worker ties up the Hubbard on Sunday, April 21, 2024, as it docks in Haines, Alaska. (Rashah McChesney / Chilkat Valley News)
Weekend ferry cancellation complicates travel for bike relay, solstice

A ferry cancellation will affect travel plans for some participants of the… Continue reading

Chris Storey shows where he found an incapacitated man in an embankment along Glacier Highway in Lemon Creek during the early morning hours of Monday, June 16, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Man who collapses near roadside rescued in early morning hours by passerby

Chris Storey, a former adult care worker who was homeless until April, assists man in distress.

Families write messages in chalk outside the governor's mansion on Friday, June 13, 2025. (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
Chalking up education funding outrage on the sidewalk at the governor’s mansion

Families protest Dunleavy’s vetoes to education funding with colorful pictures and words.

Boats at Douglas Harbor under mostly clear skies on Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
80°F in Juneau will trigger first-ever National Weather Service heat advisories

Officials say sun’s angle in Alaska makes temperatures feel higher compared to other states.

Most Read