Anchorage Assembly tightens rules for election observers

By
Suzanne Downing
-
58

On a vote of 10-1, the Anchorage Assembly changed the rules for how campaigns can monitor the vote-counting process of the local mail-in-only elections.

Among the changes are limits to how many election observers a campaign can have in the building.

The changes came about after Mayor Dave Bronson’s campaign had a vigorous program of observers watching the workings of the Elections Office, run by the Municipal Clerk. They recorded much of the proceedings, which are difficult to observe from the security cameras that are installed in the building.

Clerk Barbara Jones, considered by many conservatives to be partisan, was unhappy and argumentative with the Bronson campaign for its election-watching activities in April and May.

But the new rules are not as onerous as the ones the Clerk had proposed earlier this year. Gone is the requirement that campaigns must tell the Clerk who the observers will be 22 days prior to the beginning the counting process.

Among the revisions to the original proposal, the Assembly chose to not ban recording devices in Election counting rooms, but ruled that the devices cannot be used in areas where confidential information may be captured by the devices.

Instead, observers will be able to record in undefined “designated areas,” leaving that decision about what that means up to the Clerk.

Without a vote of the people, the Assembly in 2017 voted to move the city to the mail-in election that has brought with it a significant amount of public mistrust in the election system. There were many irregularities documented during the last municipal election, including having a fire alarm go off during counting, requiring the clearing of the building, and having the attorney on contract to the Election Office also maintaining a simultaneous contract with a company that sells Dominion Voting Systems, the ballot tabulating equipment provider.

Voting against the changes were Chugiak/Eagle River Assemblywoman Jamie Allard.

58 COMMENTS

  1. Anchorage Assembly members who are obviously wanting power of and not good for the people of Anchorage should be removed from office immediately and replaced with people who will serve the people NOT push control over them.

      • Rigged elections do not create the moral authority required for representative government. If they continue on this path they will be removed by scandal and mud slinging sooner or later. Just like that Berkowitz buffoon.

    • I’m curious though…how exactly do they intend to enforce it if Bronson is the Commander in Chief charged with enforcing the laws?

      • That’s the whole problem, they seemingly don’t understand their own Assembly rules. Bronson IS the Commander in Chief, but they over rule his vote and determines to think they overrule him.

  2. Georgia found a total of 4 (four) ballots issued by deceased voters. That’s out of roughly 5 million ballots cast in the state. The election was narrow, and Trump needed to find about 12,000 miscounted ballots to beat Biden in the state. Despite pleading with Georgia’s secretary of state, to find these 12,000 ballots that were involved in this so-called widespread fraud scheme, only 4 ballots could be uncovered.

    So where is all this concern coming from, that our elections are not secure? It certainly isn’t coming from reality… who could stand to gain from defrauding the public and convincing them that their elections are not secure? Who could possibly gain from that?

    • You can certainly tell who’s too lazy to utilize real news that’s out there as opposed to just turning on a local TV channel or reading the ADN.
      A good bott will just regurgitate the four deceased ballot jargon. I’d like to say ignore the mass fraud but you can’t ignore what you have never heard in the first place due to you lack of real reporting.
      So it’s safe to assume you haven’t heard about the thousands of mail on ballots that were
      – printed on incorrect paper
      – no folds even though they were received in an envelope ?
      – eligible and duplicate signatures
      – residents of only a day of election , registered same day.
      – single individuals videotaped stuffing handfuls of ballots in the dozens of temporary drop boxes fund buy a few donors.

      This is just a few of the sworn statements that someone like you have probably never heard of.

    • It’s coming from the people who have made democracy work in America for the past 70 years as they have become convinced in THEIR OWN MIND that something nefarious is happening in the voting process !! 4 questionable ballots out of 5 million in Georgia ? Like to see your data!!

    • Four ballots cast illegally is four too many.
      .
      Interestingly, you focus solely on ballots by deceased voters. Curious why you had to add that caveat?

      • So far there have been only a handful of criminal charges for casting fraudulent ballots in the 2020 election. And all of them have been against republican voters who cast more than 1 ballot, presumably for Donald Trump. The exhaustive audit of the ballots in Arizona, conducted by the Republican legislature, found no evidence of voter fraud, and concluded that Biden actually received more votes than the official tally. Those who believe Trump won can Point to absolutely no evidence that supports their belief. But then again, they probably were also the same folks who believed that President Obama was a Muslim who was born in Kenya,

        • Oh, so you are OK with Republican candidates getting more votes than they deserve?
          .
          “The exhaustive audit of the ballots in Arizona, conducted by the Republican legislature, found no evidence of voter fraud”
          .
          I am guessing you did not actually investigate further than the headlines on that report. Yes, the vote for Biden went up after the recount, but the audit discovered around 52,000 potentially illegally cast votes.
          .
          There is a difference between a recount and an audit. If I claim I have $100 in my wallet, we can count it all day. 100 pieces of paper that say $1` on them. $100. Recount after recount will give me the same number.
          .
          But, an audit will tell me which pieces of paper are genuine US Currency, which are Monopoly money, and which are crude drawings of dollars.
          .
          However, you are 100% correct. No one is getting charged with election fraud. (With a few exceptions, like Sherikia Hawkins) Then again, that very same woman was celebrate by the Democrats.

    • John asked:
      “… who could stand to gain from defrauding the public and convincing them that their elections are not secure? Who could possibly gain from that?”
      .
      The much better and more pertinent question to ask is this: Who stands to gain from radically decreasing the simplicity and transparency of the US voting process, as we are witnessing in this move by the hyper-partisan, hyper-radical and hyper-sociopathic Anchorage ass-embly’s Marxist Nine? And the answer is, of course, this: those who crave and seek power over others, at any and all cost.
      .
      PS: I am surprised and disappointed to see that Crystal Kennedy apparently voted in favor of this indefensible assembly proposal.

      • Mr Forkner: If the infiltrators buried the evidence well, how do you know what the evidence is if its so hidden? Or maybe you don’t but its keyboard fun to push the Big Lie.

    • Isn’t it possible that the US military was watching the federal elections carefully and have evidences of each moment falsifications if any happened? Wouldn’t they know and have literally all the evidence? Are there interested foreign parties of acclaim and stature who have never given up their desire to manipulate this country, its rescources, and manipulate through cultivated domestic “friends” who may slightly share international propoganda? Would the military and well meaning others have capable review processes so as to ensure accuracy? Perhaps more capably than some imagine? Who would want to manipulate the United States anyway? Oh, probably no one at all in the world. No one in Italy. No one in the City of London. No one at all. Everybody is our friend. How much does it cost to control a news “agency”?

    • Election Corruption is rampant. Let us look at Georgia. In Georgia alone there were 23 counties where more votes were counted than registered voters in the county.

      ‘https://www.judicialwatch.org/ga-non-residential/’

      In the country as a whole 1.8 million more votes than registered voters were cast when you look at a county by county break down.

  3. It’s not just a coincidence that every conservative issue has failed and every liberal issue has passed since the adoption of mail in voting. It’s all related to the lack of security and chain of custody for the ballots.
    …
    When the liberals don’t get their way, they seek less transparency.

  4. I don’t get the big hulabaloo over mail in voting. Keeps this senior citizen from having to travel to the polls, and makes sure every legal vote is counted. That’s how good conservatives get elected.

    • The impetus behind mail in voting is to get more people voting by removing that “standing in line at the polls” requirement.
      .
      However, do you simply want more people voting? Or wouldn’t you really rather have more informed and politically aware people voting? Requiring a person to vote in person ensures several things:
      1. It is in fact that person casting the vote.
      2. That person took the time out of their day to vote, which means they feel it is important, and
      3. it is likely that they are more involved in the political landscape of their area, and are not just “voting to vote”
      .
      How many ballots are mailed back by people who selected their candidate because a neighbor had a sign, or they asked their spouse who to vote for, or some other reason? That is how you get a supermajority of power hungry leftists on the Assembly. Forrest Dunbar has a catchy campaign slogan, or Suzanne LaFrance is easier on the eyes than her opponent.
      .
      I do not want more votes. I want more informed votes, and mail in voting ensures I will not get what I want.

      • The Constitution outlaws disenfranchising voters. Importantly, it also holds my right to bear arms, and many other cherished American freedoms. A good conservative is a Constitutionalist, to be a Constitutionalist, you must also realize that the right to vote must not be infringed in a free society, you can’t just ignore that part of the Constitution because you don’t like it. The key is demonstrating why our conservative ideals are superior, that’s how we win elections. Your rationale of neighbors voting because of a sign or whatever makes you sound like my fear-mongering nephew trying to convince me to vote for all the libtards. Be a lion, not a sheep.

        • How does in person voting disenfranchise anyone?
          .
          There is not a State, City, or Village in the US that does not provide accommodates for voters that have difficulty getting to the polls, or getting a photo ID. Not one. (Prove me wrong)
          .
          My rationale is based 100% on human nature. Let me ask you. If you are interested in buying a new car, or getting new windows for your house, do you do all of your own research, or do you ask the opinion of friends/neighbors? Do ads on TV make any difference to you at all?
          .
          Don’t lie, I know they do.
          .
          But, for some reason, you think that who your neighbor has energy for in the upcoming election will have ZERO influence on your vote? Especially if you were not even going to bother standing in line at the polls?
          .
          Betty, you will be hard pressed to get more conservative, and Constitutionalist than I am. But, what you are talking about is based on idealism, not reality.

    • Betty,
      As a senior, there is a difference between absentee voting and this mail in voting.. Absentee voting is for those who ASK by mail for a ballot and they ARE registered voters. They are verified before before the ballot is mailed out.. This other “vote by mail” is when groups of people mail out ballots to falsely be used for voting..to groups of people, or they are ballots mailed to people that have moved and not asked for absentee ballots. These often are people who scammed the death registries to collect names etc. etc.. ALSO to outside Alaskan voters who are NOT registered voters for our state.
      In Anchorage, Anchor Rides and People Mover has been offering free rides on voting day(s)only for people Needing a ride to get to the their voting place..(I know because I have searched that out for myself.)

  5. ARTICLE II. – BILL OF RIGHTS

    This Charter guarantees rights to the people of Anchorage that are in addition to rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Alaska. Among rights guaranteed by this Charter are:

    (1) The right of initiative; the right of referendum; and the right to recall public officers, as herein provided. (2) The right of immunity from the creation or alteration of a service area, except upon a vote within the area affected. (3) The right to establish local community councils to assure maximum community self-determination, exercised in conjunction with others and without infringement upon the rights of other persons. (4) The right of immunity from sales taxes, except upon approval by three-fifths (⅗) of the qualified voters voting on the question, except the taxes imposed by Charter Section 14.05 and Section 14.07 shall be effective if approved by a majority (50 percent + one) of the qualified voters voting on the question. (5) The right of immunity from official actions of the assembly taken after 12:00 midnight and before 7:00 a.m., actual time. (6) The right to the assistance of a municipal ombudsman in dealing with grievances and abuses. (7) The right to opportunities in housing, public accommodations, employment, and education without regard to race, religion, sex, color, national origin, marital status, or physical disability; and the right to an equal rights commission at the municipal level in aid thereof. (8) The right to a locally directed, ongoing planning process that is based upon the community’s goals, objectives and policies for the future. (9) The right—whether as a taxpayer, as a municipal employee, or both—to a comprehensive personnel classification and procedures system created by ordinance and based upon merit. (10) The right to be heard at public hearings prior to adoption of proposed six-year plans of the school system and the municipality, or approval of the annual budget or any ordinance (except an emergency ordinance as defined herein). (11) The right—whether as a contractor, as a taxpayer, or both—to competitive bidding for goods and services furnished to the municipality, subject only to exceptions established by ordinance. (12) The right of immunity from emergency ordinances, unless adopted by affirmative votes of all assembly members present and voting, or three-fourths of the total membership. (13) The right to have a public record of the actions of the assembly.

    • This is nonsense. There is only the right of the public to listen to unimpinged (by any impinging time requirements such have been attached to the public) soliloquy of the continuous nature rather than assembled to instruct public servants before we are disassembled by policy enforcement and removal of the public by vexacious hostile public servants in conflict with the US Constitution. Your words are a mockery as you know.

    • I believe it is an ennumerated US Constitutional right (though omitted from “the charter” “rights listing to request a legislative inquiry or investigation of unconstitutional acts by anyone occupying an emolument (where fact-finding is initiated by the infringed upon sending first a notice to desist to the one(s) infringing rights and filing police complaints) and a report of written decision of further action with these outcomes: (1) investigation completed no trespass of the US Constitution found , (2) Investigation completed conflict with US Constitution found, immunity revoked and emolument discharged for all those taking prohibited actions causing their names to be disqualified from any oath-taking or receipt of stipend forever and state of alaska legislature prosecutes the US Constitution breaker, and/or (4) the plaintiff has the recognized written right to sue for remedy and punitive damages in the court of competent jurisdiction, US Federal Court of Appeals for damages and punitive damages per each infringement. This would actually be defending the US Constitution per the filed oaths. Nothing else is. Also, remedy and jurisdiction is in the court of record and justice in the legislative branch as so delegated expressly in the US Constitution providing due process and federal court rules are adhered to in the inquiry. Alaska has been a state for over 50 years. When if ever has such an audit and US Constitution investigation ever happened in Alaska. I can think one DOT case that was won in an employment matter. otherwise, never. The due process has never been followed that I am aware of. Also if the elected members do not act the person infringed may go to Congress and request “a Congressional” proceeding or investigation. These have been done by other states and justice reached (Entire Family Court permanently closed in a Texas jurisdiction and are still closed and all cases moved to federal court for disposition and some judges and clerks “retired”) . Contining, the US Commander in Chief and his Secret Service concern themselves also with systemic loss of the republic or US Constitutional rights within the states and have authority each day to bring discharge and remedy if others have not acted in the legislative branch to do it. This protective remedy was delegated to the legislative branch expressly by the US Constitution not (necessarily) the judicial branch because the people retain all political rights and other rights not ennumerated. The legislative audit/defense is not emphasized. I believe that is a drift from defense of the US Constitution and guarantee of our republic.

  6. The commies want to steal more elections – that’s all they know.

    None of them have ever accomplished anything, or ever had a real job.

    I look forward to their removal ASAP.

    • Bucket:

      Far far right KY senator Rand Paul said this about stealing an election: “How to steal an election,” Paul tweeted Monday night, before quoting an article from The American Conservative. “‘Seeding an area heavy with potential Democratic votes with as many absentee ballots as possible, targeting and convincing potential voters to complete them in a legally valid way, and then harvesting and counting the results.’

      You see what he did there? He described a lawful election strategy that all parties adhere to, yet he didn’t understand the irony or hypocrisy of his statement. That’s how dumb his statement is. Sorta like yours.

      • Evidently you fail to see what Rand is saying with that statement. He is literally describing what Democrat operatives did in the 2020 election to steal it from Trump. The election fraud already discovered in the battleground states has revealed their system of stealing an election by flooding every address with ballots whether people asked for them or not, then they just count the numbers in their candidates favor. Dead voters, moved voters, illegal voters and you name it. They were intent on stealing an election from the American people at all costs because Trump was destroying their corrupt political machine in D.C.

      • Evan, Is it Okay with you that we ensure that only people who legally LIVE in those districts vote? We have some districts with over 100% of voter registration. Do those folks get the mail-ins as well. One example may be a deceased person who hasn’t been purged and has living family at the residence, or a college student who has changed residency to obtain resident rates at an out of state university. Mail ins are subject to fraud. How do we currently check for signature verification or witnesses? The short answer is we really don’t. It is hardly infallible.

  7. We need to start writing initiative and referendums so we can limit the Powers of the communist assembly members. Any law they try to enact we need to counteract with Bill in April

    Section 3.02. – Initiative and referendum.

    (a) The powers of initiative and referendum are reserved for exercise by the people of Anchorage in the manner provided by law. The powers of initiative and referendum do not apply to ordinances establishing budgets, fixing mill levies, authorizing the issuance of bonds, or appropriating funds. A petition for initiative or referendum shall be signed by a number of qualified voters equal to at least ten percent of the voters who cast ballots at the last regular mayoral election. (b) Within ten days from the filing of a petition for initiative or referendum, the municipal clerk shall certify on the petition whether or not it is sufficient. An initiative shall be submitted to the voters at the next regular election held at least 45 days after certification of the petition. A referendum shall be submitted to the voters at a regular or special election held not later than 75 days after certification of the petition. However, the assembly may submit a referendum to the voters at a later regular or special election if the assembly suspends the ordinance until the election. (c) A referendum petition may be filed at any time. However, filing of a referendum petition suspends the ordinance or resolution if and only if the petition is filed within 60 days after the effective date of the ordinance or resolution. The suspension terminates on a finding of insufficiency of the petition or upon certification of a majority vote against repeal. (d) An initiative petition is void if the assembly enacts substantially the same measure prior to the election. A referendum petition is void if the assembly repeals the ordinance in question prior to the election. (e) The assembly may not repeal or substantially alter an ordinance enacted by initiative or enacted under (d) above, or re-enact a measure rejected by referendum within two years after certification of the election at which the enactment or rejection occurred.

  8. Just go ahead and declare popular elections null and void. The Politburo will make all the decisions. It would be a hell of a lot more honest than this crap.
    Enjoying being ruled, Anchorage? You must. Not only did you elect these clowns, you re-elected them.

  9. Ignore the Assembly Flood the Election Processing Center in April with people to observe. If not this then we must return to in person voting period. NO MORE Mail in Ballot.

  10. 2022 election predictions:
    Due to unprecedented mail-in votes discovered at 2:00 am in various Anchorage districts, a 2% lead by Dunleavy is turned into a 1% lead for Walker.?
    Of course, since the spineless republicans did nothing to stop this, they deserve it.

    • Yep. While it’s only 3 electoral votes, Alaska is the last vestige of sanity on the West Coast and the Dems are zeroing in on it.

  11. If barb and the leftie-slature had nothing to hide or fear then none of this would be necessary. The mere fact that they are going to these lengths indicates they are up to no good.

  12. More reasons to have a Constitutional convention. Set guidelines for how Alaska’s elections are conducted.
    No mail in, no ranked choice, official guidelines for observing vote counts, and a mandatory audit of voting if the margin of error/victory falls in certain perimeters.

  14. In the past any conflicts with the clear and plain language of the US Constitution were resolved with the US Constitution prevailing. This was to guarantee the republic form of government is the only form of government.

  15. There is no reason they would do this without the intent to stack the cards their way. They are intentionally trying to throw a wrench in the observers ability to maintain transparency and hold them accountable to the people. This needs to be challenged by the Mayor and or the City Attorney’s Office. Bronson was elected because they were not able to cheat and they are moving to take care of that oversight.

  16. Let’s not forget history! All cultures in America have had to fight for a right to vote. And we shall have the right to see that our votes count! If I want to see how machines or process of my vote or others~! I should and shall have the right!Thank You!

  18. That’s the whole problem, they seemingly don’t understand their own Assembly rules. Bronson IS the Commander in Chief, but they over rule his vote and determines to think they overrule him.

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