Alex Gimarc: What just happened in the municipal election?

1. Yes there is no way it should take this long to count the votes. This needs to be redone. By that the vote should be done again and in person then counted one day period!! Enough of these elections taking weeks to finalize especially with our small population!!

   • Blah blah blah…. Apparently, counting the votes just simply doesn’t matter if the conservative votes do not exist. Those of us who did, we now get the opportunity to sit back and watch from our couches where we can’t seem to get off of, our city quickly devolve to a vagrant filled high taxed blue zone. Well done again conservatives. Bravo!!!

     • More like Conservative Votes are not being counted. Remember who said it’s “not who votes but who counts the vote” Joesph Stalin. I will be glad when the Muni clerk is gone maybe we can put someone in there that will actually count all the votes not just Democratic votes.

       • Got any proof to back up that assertion?

         I think it is more likely that conservatives didn’t vote during this extra low turnout election.

         If you want to elect conservative candidates, maybe put forward people who can actually win?

         • Pablo:
           Replying on a different comment because you are correct, you do have a bit more than ZERO control after you drop you ballot into the box. It may be as much as 1% control.
           .
           Tell me, how exactly do you know your vote was counted they way you cast it?
           After your “fix” your signature, you are absolutely, 100% sure they do not just toss your ballot into the trash, well… how exactly?
           What if they reject your ballot, but neglect to notify you?
           What if you do not actually receive any notification? Typos happen.
           .
           Do you seriously think that everything is peachy keen with the counting of ballots?

         • Unless you can show me proof that something nefarious is happening, I am inclined to believe that Ballot Trax actually works. It worked for me, and they even sent me a text stating that my ballot had been accepted and counted.

           Your distaste for mail in ballots is not proof that something bad is happening. Just because conservative candidates lost does not mean that there is a liberal conspiracy to ignore/destroy conservative votes.

         • And your trust in mail in balloting is proof of… well… nothing.
           It is important to secure and protect things that are important. Voting, and the results of elections are very important indeed. Yet, for some reason the USPS is a good way to send ballots? Tell me, would you put $500 in cash into an envelope and mail it to yourself? Be honest. If you said yes, I know you are lying.
           Protect what is valuable. Mail in voting is the opposite of protecting the vote.

         • That’s why you send things certified and for your information, I have mailed cash to family and friends. Do I make it look like it is cash, hell no. But do I send an envelope or card with money in it, sure.

           I guess my trust in mail in balloting is similar to those who subscribe to religious belief that there is a God. It’s called faith

         • What does religion have to do with it?
           I live by the tenant of “Trust but verify.” And, mail in voting has way too many areas where the untrustworthy can cheat if so inclined.
           .
           Now, I am likely the exception, but I have had certified letters go off to… well… I do not know. Never delivered, no one seems to be responsible. Besides, certified only means it was delivered, not counted properly.

         • I used the example of people who have blind faith in their belief that there is a God to show that I have faith in the system that counts our ballots.

           Again, I ask for PROOF that something nefarious is going on with the counting of ballots. You say there are “too many areas where the untrustworthy can cheat if so inclined” but fail to provide any evidence or examples of someone doing so.

           Sending something certified mail you are provided a tracking number allowing you to track where your package or letter is in the USPS system. I’ve had certified letters that were not delivered and when I reached out to the post office and showed them that it had been last seen in a Seattle distribution center, they were able to locate and deliver my letter. I guess you didn’t raise enough of a stink at the post office. The squeaky wheel gets the grease

   • You can’t finish counting all the votes until you know how many it takes to win.

2. Alex, is ballot harvesting legal? I simply do not know anymore, so much has changed. But, it may be that the future is paying campaign staff to go from home to home to manually pick up ballots – that is what is happening in other states – that could be the only way to increase turnout.

   • How will you ensure no ballot tampering?

     • Correct Maureen.
       That is why mail-in is the easiest type of election to corrupt.
       We should go back to the State system of voting live at polling places & only give mail-in ballots to voters who request them & will use them.
       Seniors, students & others get paid to man precincts in AK, a welcome income boost for some of us.
       As it is, we are printing 170K ballots, envelopes & secrecy sleeves that are thrown into the landfill.
       A total waste of money, paper & ink and a bad idea environmentally.

       Question: Who makes profit on those 170K thrown away ballots?
       The politically connected?

       • I am in charge of my ballot George.

         • You might be in charge of your ballot, right up until you drop it into a box. Either a mailbox, a ballot drop box, or the box at the polling place.
           Then you have ZERO control over it, nor do you have any assurance that your vote was counted correct (or at all)

         • CBMTTek,

           There is this thing called Ballot Trax and it tracks your ballot and allows you to see exactly where it is in the processing. They will even text you updates.

           If your ballot is rejected, they let you know and allow you to “cure” your ballot.

           I had to do this as they rejected my signature and when I went in to fix it there was no issue. They hadn’t even opened the envelope yet.

           So I have to reject your assertion that once you drop the ballot in the mail or drop box, you have ZERO control over it.

     • The same way the Democrats ensured no ballot tampering in PA, MN, OH, and other states in 2020.

       • No the same way Republicans did, North Carolina remember?

         • Works for me.
           If one side can ignore the rules with impunity, all sides can.

3. I don’t understand conservatives who stay home.
   SO disgusted. Glad I don’t live in anchorage. I hate even going there. Just another liberal run city descending into decay & decadence.

4. Conservatives will never win another election in Anchorage as long as :

   Vote by mail allows for ballots to be sent out of state to people registered to vote in other states.

   Voter rolls remain 106% of eligible voters.

   The ship creek group can take in >250k of Outside money for a ballot proposition that get also gets used to pay the salaries of the same people working on all of the liberal candidates’ campaigns.

5. We get the government we deserve. Local and federal

6. The reasons the elections go to the left are all the union employees and their spouses vote for more money as in raise and more benefit’s as in time off work payed. The unions need to votes for power and money. As everyone knows the renters tend not to vote because they have no dog in the fight. The middle class conservatives and most homeowners have too much money so they don’t mind their taxes going up. Some day people will look at how much taxes they pay, and it will get their attention. Until then there’s too much money in the economy for anybody to care. One would think that the average taxpayer would be mad from West being stolen and miss spent from them. But apparently they’re OK with politics taking their money and using it for pit projects and union raises.

7. I AM DISGUSTED WITH THE I’M-NOT-VOTING-PUBLIC!!
   Do not even complain to me about the shenanigans going on in our once sound minded city. I will look at everyone of you like you are one-who-did-not-cast-a-vote!

   • Sure, it is did not cast a vote or did not have the vote counted?

8. Such a test could be enlightening and worthy in order to pinpoint better efforts. The ‘right’ also seem to be plagued by political laziness. I do wonder if the, justified, lack of faith in the mail in voting system is furthering apathy, aided also by having only two in person polling places that are both inconvenient and time consuming.

   • Loussac was easy to vote at.
     Plenty of parking & there were 2 rooms set up on election day, so no waiting.

9. So once again, Republicans lose an election and once again, the only possible explanation has to be election fraud. Talk about sore losers. Is that the way its going to be moving forward? What will conservatives say the next time a Republican wins a Presidential election? Will they still claim election fraud or is that only the case when the other side wins? Time to grow up!

   • Good point man.
     We should’t be whining, we should be organizing.
     The AK GOP seems to have no leadership at this time.

   • Are vote was actually counted not thrown in the circle can.

10. Could it be that people no longer believe in our election process? Many of the younger people I talk to seem to think every one of them is rigged and useless.

    • Then they’re willfully ignorant and buying into into the big lie that wingnuts like Trump and Lake are spouting. People that buy into that BS should be selling pencils from a cup on the sidewalk.

      • I know. Willfully ignorant and buying into a big lie.
        Tell me, cman. What assurance do you have that your ballot was actually counted? How do you know it was counted accurately?
        You dropped it in a box, or used a machine to read it, and I am sure you are 100% convinced that it was counted correctly. Why?
        When mail in voting happens, something like 17% of the ballots are rejected. When in person voting happens, that number is… well… approaching 0% of the ballots rejected. And, you wonder why people are not convinced in election integrity?
        .
        When ballot drop boxes are set up, but overwhelming in blue areas, or when ballot harvesting happens (where legal), but no one is knocking on conservatives doors. When 60 printers are somehow “misconfigured” and people have to drive miles and wait hours to vote. When a candidate refuses to recuse themselves from overseeing the election.
        Those things contribute to a lack of faith in the election process.
        .
        But, you are convinced that none of those things are a problem, right? it is all a big lie.

        • There is only one state that says only the voter can submit their own absentee ballot. Alabama.

          • That you ignored the rest of my comment speaks volumes.
            .
            Thanks for continuing to be a leftist troll. Keep it up.

11. Wouldn’t it be great to have an honest conservative organization that could research all the candidates and ballot initiatives and mail out flyers with their findings to interested people? And maybe even offer an outlet to pass on funding to underfunded candidates to even out the field. It would have to be run by people who have earned our trust.

    • And what about some non politicians. The lawyer/ politician is a large part of the problem with both sides quietly taking us to the cleaners.

12. “The question is: Why?”
    No, that is not the real question.
    .
    The real question is “Why bother?”
    Confidence in elections are at all time low. Mail in voting has destroyed confidence, and the high percentage of rejected ballots is making the situation worse, finally the leftists running election central have driven a stake through the heart of any confidence that voting makes a different.
    .
    As a conservative, I have zero confidence that any leftist will lose an election. Not because Anchorage has gone leftist en masse, but because the people controlling the election can control the outcome. Mail in voting is designed to elect the person with the most signs, best ads, and most money. And since the left is funded with massive cash from the lower 48, conservatives cannot win.
    .
    So, why bother voting at all?

    • Dunbar lost.
      With mail-in.
      Just saying.

      • Pointing out the exception does not disprove the rule.
        Besides, Bronson did not have the same reputation as Dunbar outside of his district. There is a lot of dislike for that individual outside of his district.
        There are exceptions.

13. There’s discontent with Bronson from the Right? Why? What is it conservatives expect him to do when he’s overruled at every turn?

    This is why I, as a Millennial, am fed up with the so called Conservative Movement. It never circles the wagons, never defends its own, it’s always willing to burn bridges to make itself viable to the general public. They haven’t caught on that they’re playing into the Left’s hands.

    Mayor Bronson won’t win re-election because this “movement” is full of idiots.

    • Zack,
      Be fed up with the conservatives/republicans, they are trying to play by the actual rules. It is time to teach them how to change, be part of the conservative swing to get your vote. Get them off their butts!! Show them how to stand their ground and stand up for us!
      They need you NOW more than ever, and your friends too.
      im working on all my friends, more of them voted this cycle too. As the saying goes, just do it.

    • I want to argue with you, but you’re correct. The right side of the aisle needs a massive housecleaning.

14. It’s delusional to think “conservatives snatched defeat from the jaws of victory”. It’s the equivalent of saying the Alamo defenders actually stood a chance.

    The voters have spoken. They want deeper and deeper shades of blue. It really is that simple.

    Anchorage is not a conservative community anymore. It gets bluer every year. The “why” has 1000 answers, all valid.

    Some of the major reasons “why” include:

    -liberal in migration and conservative out migration.
    -a stunningly inept and useless GOP.
    -the split over Trump.
    -voter apathy, mostly deserved by the GOP.
    -an annoying insistence on purity. Don’t like RVC? Won’t vote. Don’t like every bit of the candidates stands? Won’t vote. Don’t like mail in? Won’t vote. And on and on and on.
    -conservative voters are lazy. They won’t bother to do the sustained work necessary to actually make inroads with voters.

    Nothing stops conservative voters from trying to turn this around but conservative voters.

    • Best comment here!

15. Apathy and ignorance.

16. “……..Was it Bronson? Was it the out-of-state ad agency? Was it something else?………”
    Are you familiar with the Edward Gibbon dissertation on the Fall of Rome?:
    “……..After a diligent inquiry, I can discern four principal causes of the ruin of Rome, which continued to operate in a period of more than a thousand years. I. The injuries of time and nature. II. The hostile attacks of the Barbarians and Christians. III. The use and abuse of the materials. And, IV. The domestic quarrels of the Romans……..”
    Of particular note was the discredit he placed on Christianity. In short, after Christianity (the only religion in Roman history that ultimately believed that sacrifice of oneself was the ultimate relief, healing, and salvation) became the official state religion in 325 by decree of Constantine, and after a further 200 years of political, social, economic, moral, and cultural decay, Roman Christians essentially chose death (politically, socially, economically, culturally, and even individually) over a continued free fall into the moral abyss.
    Perhaps conservatives are just tired and ready for the end of this charade? You have to go to Hell before you get to Heaven?

17. Could be, Alex, that liberals have better ideas than conservatives.

    • It is quite possible that they do.
      However, most of the leftist (do not call them liberal, there is nothing liberal about the leftists on our Assembly) ideas do not see to work out as planned very often. Curious if you can name a few of these ideas that are better.

      • CB: here’s one: State paying for student lunches.

        • State paying for school lunches. You mean the taxpayers paying for school lunches. The State has no money it does not take from the taxpayers first.
          .
          That is not a better idea at all.
          Why should I, a taxpayer, be held responsible for buying food for someone who is not my child? Since when should the welfare of someone else’s child override the welfare of my own?
          I will donate to charities, after the needs of my family are met. Just because taxes and the government is involved does not change that position.
          .
          Tell me, Blaine. When do you put the wants of others before the needs of your family?
          .
          Also, if we are going to pay for student lunches using taxes, why not pay for their dinner as well? Where does it end? Does everyone get it, or is there some means tests? That works right up until the people just above the threshold complain, and the politicians wanting to keep their seats will raise that line. Next thing you know, families earning over $100K adjusted gross income are qualified for free (taxpayer funded) school lunches.
          .
          School lunches sounds all well and good and nice, but the inevitable (history is abundantly clear on this front) is that it swells into a monster that eats up taxpayer funds and depletes available funding for other required services.

          • We don’t pay state tax CBMTTek.

            That person not your child you are feeding may save your child some day. Or you.

            It’s not either or it’s both and.

          • Hi Maureen:
            Who claimed we did pay state tax?
            Blaine did not.
            I did not.
            .
            Yet, taxpayer dollars will be used to fund Blaine’s brilliant idea, regardless. Which means that instead of families taking care of their children’s needs, the State is using funding that could otherwise go toward services for everyone, including those without school age children.
            .
            And, the child may save my life someday? Well, that child could take my life one day as well.
            .
            Curious why you ignore the real question I asked Blaine. Why should I be responsible for paying for something that benefits someone I have never, nor am I likely to ever meet? Why should I put the nutrition needs of a strangers child before the needs of my own family?
            Because, that is exactly what Blaine is proposing.
            .
            Then again, in your leftist mind, the State must come first, all other relationships are secondary. The village takes priority over the individual. Work for the greater good, even if you do not see any benefit from it.
            .
            Oh… wait. There is a name for that. Working for the benefit of others with no return to yourself. It is called slavery.

          • CBNTTek said-“State paying for school lunches. You mean the taxpayers paying for school lunches. The State has no money it does not take from the taxpayers first.“

            Blaine said-“ CB: here’s one: State paying for student lunches.”

          • And, once again, you totally ignore the rest of my comment to focus on… what?
            That there is no individual state income tax?
            Well, news flash, does not matter anyway. The City/Municipality/Borough generally taxes for the schools. Not the State. Is that way in Anchorage, and most other cities across the nation.
            .
            So, I pay for the school lunches if the all powerful State decides to make them no cost to the students.
            .
            And, curious why in your world, that child is the one that grows up to save lives. I noticed you glossed over the fact that every serial killer/dictator/tyrant/murderer/drug dealer/thief/rapist was a child as well. But… in your world, I guess they would not have turned out that way if they just got a lunch at school. Or, that is what you implied.
            Answer that one.

          • You may want to talk about City/Municipality/Borough tax then, and not the State when you comment on school lunches.

18. Tom Anderson is a wolf in sheepish clothing. He supported Lisa Murkowski and ran an ad skewering Jamie Allard. He’s “love of money” driven, not morally competent. Shouldn’t be on the radio deceiving many five days a week.

    Amy Demboski did turn many Anchorage people away from even wanting to vote by hiring radical leftist Scott Kendall as her attorney to defame Mayor Bronson as thoroughly as possible with that open letter.

    Amy needs to apologize to us for what she’s done. Instead, she lets KENI AM650 call her “The Boss, Amy DemBOSSky” every day on her radio show in which Mayor Bronson can never call in, and others cannot talk about the Bronson situation too, including her.

    On her show, Amy Demboski was extremely friendly to radical left Assembly members Chris Constant and Felix Rivera when she interviewed them before the election. She only gave them softball questions and said to both: “Good luck on Tuesday [election day],” as if she wanted them both to win, because they’re her allies in her suit against Mayor Bronson.

    When Amy had John Trueblood on, she never even said he was running against Chris Constant, while he was on the air. And John Trueblood never mentioned Constant’s name too — bad campaign strategy, since Constant has proven how destructive he is. So listeners didn’t know how important voting for Trueblood really was, because Constant’s name wasn’t mentioned, the man who locked us down, masked us twice, forced women’s shelters to allow biological males to sleep next to battered women seeking refuge, passed legislation disallowing parents from hiring professional counseling to help their children who have been same-sex raped overcome subsequent same-sex tendencies afterward, fining counselors $500 a day! Constant leads the Assembly to fight Mayor Bronson tooth and nail, so nothing Bronson proposes gets passed by the Assembly, and they won’t approve the staff members Bronson seeks confirmation of. Instead, they openly defame them, which no one wants to go through.

    Amy never mentions any of this, so most Anchorage residents don’t even know evil Constant is and what he’s done to us. She acted like he’s her best friend, when he was on. Constant said during a recent Assembly meeting that Amy has more dirt on Bronson. Amy and Constant seem to be allies, so was she probably was hoping Constant would win, so he could help her in her personal vendetta against Bronson, throwing Anchorage under the bus in the process of her getting personal monetary gain.

    In some ways, Amy is the opposite of Dan Fagan, for which truth and morality really mattered. Dan warned us about Constant and Felix’s dangerous ways, leading Anchorage towards destruction, while Amy smiles when she talks with them as if they’re her best buddies.

    Is Amy doing more harm than good in her radio show? She helped us lose this election, for sure.

    The main problem is spiritual. Amy and Mayor Bronson both are openly Baptists, but have serious integrity problems. Amy was fired for calling a woman the c-word in a meeting while working for us. Real Christians, following Christ don’t do that.

    Anchorage can’t move forward until we have serious repentance in many “Christians,” who need to get right with God and those they’ve hurt. If they hurt people publicly they need to repent publicly, pastors especially.

    Worldly solutions cannot fix spiritual problems.

    INTEGRITY MATTERS!

19. In my humble opinion, I think the root cause of this is mail-in voting. I never trusted it from the beginning.
    But that said, I also think that a lot of Anchorage area folks are either to lazy to get off there arses to vote and/or just wore out with all the drama.
    You can’t help but to believe that Mayor Bronson has been in a fist fight and witch hunt since day 1 by the Anchorage Assembly.
    I seen the writing on the wall about Anchorage several years ago and moved to the valley. I still have properties in Anchorage and I still a vested interest with Anchorage.
    I think Mr. Gimarc heart is in the right place, but I think his attempt with the next step on independent survey will be jaded by who’s paying the bill for this survey.
    The end of the day, until the Republican Party & conservative voters pulls its head out, Anchorage voters will continue to get spanked at every election.

20. Lack of envolvement created the liberal leftist assembly. You don’t get your lazy ass out and vote you deserve what you get…

21. While I appreciate the author’s pure-hearted reflections here, I believe he fails to see the forest through the trees.

    As in every election, my household thoroughly researches the candidates and all the issues to be sure our vote reflexts conservative values. But, unfortunately, we have no way to know if our ballots were counted. As we see it, the biggest problem is those in charge of our local elections cannot be trusted. Simply put: They cannot be trusted with the handling our ballots— from mail handlers to the counting machines and everything in between.

    What Republicans up here don’t get is that this is not about politics. It is not a Republican vs Democrat thing, nor is it a conservative vs progressive/leftist thing. It is 100 percent good vs evil, light vs darkness, God vs Satan.

    Look around you. Without a doubt, the Democrat party as we once knew it no longer exists in any way or fashion. The Democrat Party is cancel-culture fascistic and as old school Soviet-style communist as it gets. History (including current day) reminds us that when communists run things, they leave death and destruction in their wake in their quest to plow over freedom, so anyone who votes for a Democrat is voting for communism.

    That means it is way past time for pointing fingers at each other. While we were sleeping, they silently declared war on America and anti-American communists gained control of about all leadership positions that matter. They hate us, despise our freedom—and are doing everything in their power to cover over the indisputable fact that America was founded on Judeo-Christian values.

    Fortunately, there are still many extraordinary states out there run by solid, conservatives who see the communists for who they are and boldly drive them away on a daily basis.

    • And here, perfectly distilled, is the result of 4 years of Trump. The unbelievable contempt for reality, the certainty in claims for which there is zero proof, and the desperate attempt to find deep state conspiracy theories when in reality, the people who are getting out and voting simply disagree with your politics. Amazing.

      Seek and ye shall find. Yes, that’s exactly right. Look for divine retribution in earthquakes and floods and you’ll find it. Look for voter fraud where none exists and you’ll find it.

      “The Government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion” – John Adams in the Treaty of Tripoli.

      • Good quote from John Adams. However, you are, once again, demonstrating your first grade level of reading comprehension. Here, tell me what this says: “…the indisputable fact that America was founded on Judeo-Christian values”
        Maybe I am missing it, but I do not see where CAC says anything about a religion.
        .
        But, I am sure in your mind, mentioning the values that are the basis of Judeo-Christian religions, and stating the US was founded on those values means that CAC said the US was founded on the Christian religion.
        As if one cannot adopt the values at the core of a religion without actually being part of that religion.
        Tell me, do you reject the idea that one should honor and respect their parents because you are not religious? Do you think murder is OK because you are not religious? How about stealing? All of those are Judeo Christian values. Values you can base your life on without joining any religion.
        .
        Here’s a pro tip. Actually read and try to understand what was written before you write a rebuttal. It will make your contributions here much more useful.

        • Are you saying that until the Judeo-Christian religions came about, that societies approved of murder, theft, perjury and the like? I don’t think so. We wouldn’t have gotten as far as we have as a species if we believed otherwise.

          Do you really think that the follows of Moses believed that until they got to Mt. Sinai (assuming they did; I don’t believe a word of the story, nor is there any proof of it) that killing and stealing were OK and then found out once they got there that those things weren’t kosher? Please.

          • cman:
            There is this strategy called “quit while you are ahead.” Apparently, you have never heard of it. Instead, you keep forging ahead, demonstrating repeatedly that you have no ability to actually comprehend what is written. First grade level comprehension is a bit of a stretch for you.
            .
            So… where did anyone make the claim that Judeo Christian religions created this believe that stealing and murder is bad? I certainly did not make that claim, neither did Moses on Mt. Sinai. That does not mean the values are not part of the Judeo Christian faith.
            .
            At what point did I even imply that those values were created by Moses? Or Abraham for that matter? Does it matter where the value came from? (HINT: No, it does not.)
            .
            A system can incorporate values from previous systems without taking on all aspects of that system. The Jews did, the Christians did, the muslims did. Political systems are no different. Neither are social systems.
            .
            But, in your childlike level of intellect, if someone says the US system of Government has a basis in Judeo-Christian values (not religion, values), somehow you have to call them out as wrong, because… why? Because you think it is impossible for someone to use the values that are core to a religion as a basis for a nation without taking on that religion?
            .
            And, this argument you just put up, what a laugh. Ridicule worthy. I would expect that from a child, not someone making a comment on a news site. A troll makes that kind of argument, not an adult.

    • Whew, was ernestly reading your comment.

      Please get to know the first amendment. IT is why faux conservative, faux Christians lose.

    • Concerned: you have “an unbelievable contempt for reality”. Good term from cman

22. The amount of rationalization going on in the thread is impressive. It’s also delusional.

    Until the conservative minority accepts reality, it’s just gonna get worse and worse.

23. Thanks for a great essay, Alex.
    .
    With respect, why should voters believe results and reports from an easily corruptible mail-in ballot scheme when:
    .
    the Clerk counts the votes for the Clerk’s bosses who happen to be running for re-election;
    .
    voters don’t know how many ballots, mailed with only one stamp, never arrived for counting;
    .
    amateur government handwriting analysts, not certified forensic handwriting experts independent of city government, arbitrarily decide whether ballot signatures are valid and have ultimate authority to reject ballots based solely on their non-expert opinions;
    .
    voters don’t know how many ballots came from homeless-housing addresses where bums may have been helped to register to vote, vote, and have their ballots “mailed” for them;
    .
    voters don’t know to what extent ballot harvesting influenced the election, but they remember Mayor Bronson’s 24/7 watch on Election Central during the election, why the watch was justified, how the Clerk reacted;
    .
    voters have no way of independently verifying vote-count accuracy;
    .
    forensic audits of the election process are never conducted or if they are, results are never publicly disclosed, leading one to wonder, in this age of readily stolen and trafficked data, how secure the BallotTrax process really is; who else besides the voter, maybe for the right amount of money, gets to “track” the voter’s ballot;
    .
    voters don’t know what the Dominion vote-tabulating equipment actually does, why it has to be used, whether or how it can be manipulated locally or remotely, with or without operators’ knowledge to produce election outcomes with acceptable margins;
    .
    the City apparently uses the same inaccurate voter rolls as the State;
    .
    the ballot chain of custody falls apart when the ballot falls in the mail box or an unmonitored drop box;
    .
    and in perhaps the ultimate irony, the Assembly forced mail-in voting on residents?
    .
    Of course, these aren’t excuses for not voting. But the question remains: Conservative voters who justifiably distrust city government and the education industry on every other issue should trust, without question, what city-government employees say about elections?
    .
    What motivates lots of voters to vote is –not–: (a) lingering, pervasive, unresolved distrust in their election system, (b) loss of confidence in the ability of the Assembly and its employee, the Clerk, to conduct fair, honest, and transparent elections, (c) absolute confidence that incompetency, corruption, and child abuse will be rewarded with more bond money and government expansion, no matter the vote, or (d) utter, abject, ongoing failure of Alaska’s Republican Party to offer anything remotely resembling populist, activist leadership.
    .
    That last one’s big. Without populist, activist leadership –like what we saw at Trump rallies and during his administration–, Conservative voters are expected somehow to stampede spontaneously, all by themselves, into electoral and government reform?
    .
    If that’s the expectation, Alex, maybe Alaska’s GOP Inc. is almost extinct. Its seeming inability to adapt, thrive, do anything useful for Conservative populists in a challenging political environment could well discourage more would-be Conservative voters than it encourages.
    .
    No? You’re doing this part of the job for them, better than they’ve done it in recent memory. There’s an unholy alliance: they get in the money, you get out the votes. Alaska GOP Chairman Alex? This could work.
    .
    Running a test is an excellent idea. Why not ask Mr. Trump, Turning Point USA, or PragerU to conduct the test; explain the issue, design questions, evaluate responses, report to Conservative news media. National attention, leverage, on a local issue? This could work, too.

24. Since the PFD register automatically registers voters… Let’s make it a law. Don’t vote without a reason… No PFD.

    • That just elects the candidate with the most name recognition.

      Wont do anything for conservatives or liberals

      • In other words, advertising works.
        It is curious why the conservatives do not do a better job of it. Which is why leftists win.

        • So you admit that it is not a liberal conspiracy, it is conservatives shooting themselves in the feet because they choose unelectable candidates.

          • Conspiracy? When did I ever imply anything like that? I am of the opinion that mail in voting, and widespread money benefits leftists (please do not call them liberals, there is nothing liberal about leftists.).
            And, I agree, conservatives absolutely shoot themselves in the foot. Not because of their candidates. There are just as many unelectable candidates on the left, however, for some reason, money and voting “irregularities” get them elected…. weird.
            The Conservatives do not play the game well at all. Total fail. I can provide dozens of examples, but I think this one is the most blatant. Why isn’t there a campaign to “turn blue states red?” The left has their “let’s turn Texas blue” etc… why not one from the right?

25. it’s easy to answer the question, what happened? Anchorage voters are dumber than you thought.

26. I will limit my comments to two:

    Rely on Tom Anderson for advice on anything? Mr. Anderson is a convicted federal felon who was an obnoxious member of the Legislature for several years. No thank you.

    The Left has an effective and well-financed ballot harvesting operation. Conservatives do not.

27. Vote harder, everyone.. That will fix it!!

28. Can anyone explain How Ethan was able to change Anchorage to mail in voting, without a majority vote of approval by the people?

    • The Politburo just did it and nobody sued to stop it.

      Conservatives did what they usually do. Nothing.

      Illegal? Sure. But when does that matter to the left?

29. Don’t cities of Anchorage’s size and larger generally vote more liberal than conservative.

    I think a lot of rural folks got excited with Bronson’s flukey win tht they thought there is enough support for the outside grown push by ‘conservatives’ across the states to infiltrate all areas of government. Yes, the term they use is infiltrate.

    By pushing the views of isolated outsiders the ‘conservatives’ weren’t representing their constituency’s very local concerns.

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