Alaskans for Better Elections (ABE) is a left-of-center ballot committee advocating for changes to the voting process in Alaska. Its initiatives include ranked choice voting, all-party primaries, and regulating anonymous campaign speech. ¹ The committee is associated with a number of people aligned with the Alaska Democratic Party and liberal interests in the state.

On January 15, 2020, Alaskans for Better Elections turned in the required signatures in order to place a substantial revision to Alaskan election and campaign procedures to the state ballot. ² The proposal would change party primaries to a “top-four” system, use the ranked-choice voting procedure for general elections, and restrict anonymous election-related speech. ³ The successful campaign cost $7 million. ⁴

Lawsuit

In 2020, Alaskans for Better Elections pushed Ballot Measure 2, a set of new campaign finance rules that included the mandatory disclosure of donors who give more than $2,000 in ads. In April 2022, a group of donors and free speech advocates, including the Liberty Justice Center, the Alaska Free Market Coalition, and Families of the Last Frontier, sued the state on the grounds that the new rules were unconstitutional. ABE announced that it would intervene in the case in defense of the voter-approved law, claiming that voters “made it clear that they want increased campaign transparency and have a right to know who is spending money on their elections. Nothing in ballot measure two violates the first amendment, nor does it limit political speech.” ⁵

In July 2022, a U.S. District Court judge rejected the lawsuit. ⁶

Funding

Alaskans for Better Elections has been accused of being financed by “dark money” from Democratic-aligned groups, including Unite America. ⁷

Data from Opensecrets show that as of May 2023, Alaskans for Better Elections received $300,000 to Unite America, a PAC based in Denver that supports electoral reform efforts to the benefit of left-wing candidates. During the 2020 election cycle, Unite America gave almost $2.9 million to ABE, with an additional $500,000 from the Unite America Reform Fund. ⁸

1. “About.” Alaskans for Better Elections. Accessed March 8, 2020. https://www.alaskansforbetterelections.com/.
2. “Alaskans for Better Elections turns in signatures for certification.” Delta Discovery, January 15, 2020. Accessed March 8, 2020. https://deltadiscovery.com/alaskans-for-better-elections-turns-in-signatures-for-certification/.
3. “Alaska Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting and Campaign Finance Laws Initiative (2020).” Ballotpedia. Accessed March 23, 2020. https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Top-Four_Ranked-Choice_Voting_and_Campaign_Finance_Laws_Initiative_(2020).
4.  “‘They experience the horrible animosity that this created’: New group looks to get rid of ranked-choice voting.” Alaska’s News Source. Novemeber 30, 2022. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2022/11/30/they-experienced-horrible-animosity-that-this-created-new-group-looks-get-rid-ranked-choice-voting/.
5. “Lawsuit challenges Alaska campaign-disclosure rules.” The Free Speech Center. April 8, 2022. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/post/2822/lawsuit-challenges-alaska-campaign-disclosure-rules.
6. Brooks, James. “Judge rejects attempt to block Alaska’s dark-money political disclosure law.” Alaska Beacon. July 14, 2022. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://alaskabeacon.com/2022/07/14/judge-rejects-attempt-to-block-alaskas-dark-money-political-disclosure-law/.
7. ^[1] Downing, Suzanne. “Odd Man: ‘Veterans’ group to organize in support of Alaska’s open primaries, ranked choice voting system.” Must Read Alaksa. May 24, 2023. https://mustreadalaska.com/odd-man-veterans-group-to-organize-in-support-of-alaskas-open-primaries-ranked-choice-voting-system/?fbclid=IwAR3Yf-EqgikWuOkns5UUuXABlcusjQy5f3d3-JsVNNDMwJgLVHxbDdDwQQ0.
8. “Vendor/Recipient Profile: Alaskans for Better Elections.” Open Secrets. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2022&vendor=Alaskans+for+Better+Elections.