The Anchorage Assembly is preparing to approve a new process for election observers that cuts the Anchorage Election Commission out of the complaint process altogether.
The Election Commission is a five-member commission appointed by the mayor and approved by the Assembly. It is staffed by the Municipal Clerk’s office, which also conducts elections. The Election Commission adjudicates ballots that have been preliminarily rejected by election officials, reviews and reports on the election results to the Assembly, provides advice on the conduct of local elections, and recommends changes to local law relating to elections.
But according to the new process being developed by the Assembly, there will be very little oversight by the commission on local elections in Anchorage. The fox, instead, be will be guarding the henhouse.
It’s about control of the election: The Assembly, whose members are also usually candidates, oversees the work of the Municipal Clerk, who is in charge of the elections. If someone has a challenge to a ballot or process, there will be no third party outside of the Assembly hierarchy to take that challenge to. Instead, complaints can be taken to the Ombudsman, who also happens to report to the Assembly.
The public at large cannot challenge parts of the election unless they are official election observers, which requires training. In the past, they could go up the chain and if they disagreed with the Clerk’s decision, they could appeal to the Election Commission.
The commission’s current membership includes two former lieutenant governors — Loren Leman and Mead Treadwell, who are both experienced in election matters. Lisa Torkelson is chair, and Glennis Ireland and Adam Trombley are also members.
During last week’s Assembly work session, Treadwell told the Assembly that they were removing one of the main roles of the Election Commission.
The Assembly has made similar moves to remove power from the mayoral-appointed Library Board, and the Assembly is also working on taking away the power from the Executive Branch when it comes to appointing the city’s Chief Medical Officer, which the Assembly wants to control. It’s a way to strip power from the mayor’s office, piece by piece.
The Assembly will be voting on its new election regulations during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting, which starts at 5 pm at the Loussac Library’s ground floor meeting room.
More information at this link.
Related documents:
AR 2023-423_1_OBSERVER HANDBOOK EDITS_FINAL.DOCX.DOCX
AR 2023-423_2_OBSERVER AMP X27 S HANDBOOK UPDATE V4_REDLINE_WITH FORMS.PDF.PDF
AR 2023-423_3_ OBSERVER AMP X27 S HANDBOOK UPDATE V4_CLEAN_WITH FORMS.PDF.PDF
AR 2023-423_4_AM FOR AR.DOCX.DOCX
AR 2023-423_5_AIM_COMPILATION OF RESEARCH_CODES_CONTESTS AND JUDICIAL REVIEWS.DOC.DOC
AR 2023-423_6_ORDINANCES FOR OTHER CITIES AND BOROUGHS – ELECTION CONTESTS AND JUDICAL REVIEW.DOCX
