Opponents of Ranked Choice Voting Face Campaign Finance Complaints by pedro graterol
Acomplaint has been logged with the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) by Alaskans for Better Elections, accusing former Republican Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka and her nonprofit organization, Preserve Democracy (which aims to overturn the state’s recently adapted ranked choice voting system), of multiple violations of campaign finance laws. The complaint alleges a series of infractions, including failure to register as a lobbyist, failure to register as a ballot group, failure to disclose donors, and failure to report campaign activities.
One of the key allegations is that Preserve Democracy failed to register as a ballot group, a requirement for any organization advocating for or against a ballot proposition. Additionally, the complaint claims that Preserve Democracy did not report in-kind contributions to the registered ballot group, Alaskans for Honest Elections. This has raised concerns about the transparency of funding sources for certain campaign activities. Furthermore, it is alleged that Preserve Democracy failed to register as an Independent Expenditure Group, despite engaging in activities to influence an election. Such registration is necessary to ensure accountability and compliance with campaign finance laws.
The complaint also points out that Kelly Tshibaka, despite her involvement in advocating with the legislature, failed to register as a lobbyist. This raises questions about whether her actions may have been subject to lobbying regulations and disclosure requirements. In the complaint, Bruce Botelho, former Alaska Attorney General and board member of Alaskans for Better Elections, emphasized the importance of transparency in campaign finance: “Alaskans are entitled to know who is influencing our elections. Alaskans for Better Elections has registered with APOC and complied with all disclosure requirements. Voters deserve the same from everyone, no matter what side of the issue they’re on.”
This is not the only complaint filed by Alaskans for Better Elections, earlier in July, there was another complaint involving the Ranked Choice Education Association. According to an article by Iris Samuels in the Alaska Daily News, opponents of ranked choice voting allegedly founded this association as a church, potentially allowing donors to gain tax advantages while bypassing disclosure requirements. The complaint further alleges that the Ranked Choice Education Association funneled contributions to Alaskans for Honest Elections, a group opposing ranked-choice voting, in what appears to be “the laundering of contributions.”
Moreover, Samuels’ article also mentioned that at an event in February held at Wellspring Ministries in Anchorage, which is also implicated in the complaint, Art Mathias, president of the Ranked Choice Education Association, claimed to have contributed $100,000 to Alaskans for Honest Elections. However, subsequent mandatory disclosures to the Alaska Public Offices Commission showed no reported contribution from Mathias. Instead, evidence indicates that money was channeled to the ballot group through the Ranked Choice Education Association, which identified as a church in Washington state, seemingly to promote religious activities. The APOC will now review the complaint against Kelly Tshibaka and Preserve Democracy to determine probable cause and establish an investigation timeline. As this process unfolds, the focus will be on upholding the integrity of campaign finance laws and ensuring transparency in the electoral process, providing Alaskan voters with a clear understanding of the entities involved in influencing their elections.
