The Alaska Division of Elections is giving itself an A for effort.
The Division director has sent a letter to the Alaska Republican Party and the Republican National Committee explaining its reasons for not including a biography of the Republican nominee for president in Alaska’s Official Election Pamphlet.
Generously, the division is giving Donald J. Trump another opportunity to be included in the online version of the pamphlet, whose 119-page hard copy arrived in voters’ mailboxes this week.
In 2014, when the division left Bill Walker out of the Official Election Pamphlet, the division printed a second one.
This is a similar outreach that the Division of Elections conducted in mid-summer, and the result of its wayward effort was that Donald J. Trump’s campaign never received the information about the pamphlet. The Division never followed up to inquire as to why Trump’s campaign had not responded.
The latest letter, dated Oct. 17 and sent by Division of Elections Director Josie Bahnke, was addressed to Republican Associate Counsel Christina Schaengold and copied to House Speaker Paul Ryan (who chaired the Republican National Convention), Republican National Committee Presiding Secretary Susie Hudson, and Alaska Republican Party Chairman Tuckerman Babcock.
RESPONSE FROM PARTY CHAIRMAN: SWIFT AND HELPFUL
Tuckerman Babcock, elected chairman of the Alaska Republican Party in May, said it is the Election Division’s responsibility to reach out to the candidate, not to the party itself.
The candidate has complete control over the biography, photo, remittance, and application to be included in the Official Election Pamphlet. Babcock, in his younger years, worked at the Division of Elections and is familiar with the agency’s procedures.
Babcock, from his home in Kenai, replied immediately to Director Bahnke with this helpful information:
Dear Ms. Smith,
That is very kind of the Division of Elections. Still having trouble locating the Trump-Pence Presidential campaign contact information?
Donald J. Trump President, Inc.
c/o Trump Tower
725 5th Avenue
New York, New York 10022
The Trump campaign in Alaska:
Jerry Ward
State Director
Trump-Pence
11610 Old Seward Hwy
Anchorage, AK 99515
Sincerely,
Tuckerman Babcock
Chairman
Alaska Republican Party
Read more about the Trump/Pence statement you never got to see.