Attorney Scott Kendall, representing three Alaskan plaintiffs, has filed a legal challenge against the petition to recall the 2020 Ballot Measure 2, which made jungle primaries and ranked-choice general elections the novel voting method in Alaska state elections.
Kendall, who also represents the group that brought Ballot Measure 2 to Alaska — Alaskans for Better Elections — argues that the sponsors of the recall petition “intentionally conducted their signature petition drive illegally, thereby disqualifying thousands of signatures.”
The lawsuit names Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom.
Kendall, in his 37-page complaint, says “The Sponsors and their paid contractor specifically instructed their petition circulators to leave 22AKHE signature petition booklets unattended, with various people and at various places of business, all outside the presence of the individual circulators. These individual circulators followed these instructions and later retrieved many petitions to falsely certify them and the signatures they contained.”
Alaska Statute says signatures in a petition booklet must be personally witnessed by a circulator, and that signatures must be made only in the presence of the one individual circulator who certifies the booklet.
There are numerous other complaints made by the group, including that when the sponsors filed their full petition with the Division on Jan. 12, dozens of the individual signature petition booklets were not properly notarized as required by law.
“Alaska Statute 15.45.130 prohibits Defendants from counting petition booklets lacking a valid notarization or self-certification,” the group says in its complaint.
Additional charges are that numerous circulators acting on behalf of 22AKHE unlawfully allowed multiple individuals to circulate a single booklet and/or abandon signature petition booklets for unmonitored signature collection.
“When the illegally-collected signatures are removed from the Division’s calculation as required by law, 22AKHE no longer has a sufficient number of signatures to qualify for the ballot and must be voided,” Kendall wrote on behalf of the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit advises the court that as time goes on, the litigants will probably add additional challenges to individual signatures in what is now known as the “22AKHE petition” booklets. This could prevent the matter from appearing on the ballot this year, if it is not resolved in favor of the Alaskans for Honest Elections group that organized the recall effort.
The complainants are Elizabeth Medicine Crow, Amber Lee, and Kevin McGee, all political operatives on the Democrat side of the political aisle. Crow was the longtime president of the First Alaskans Institute. Lee is a deputy treasurer on the Suzanne LaFrance for Mayor campaign team. McGee is the former president of the local NAACP.
Why is it that Democrats are always so opposed to democracy?
Risk. Their utopia eventually collapses, and they lose power. Serfs don’t know what’s good for them.
So they defend democracy by refusing to allow it.
It is time to use lawfare against everything the left does like they do to the people Alaska. Where are the conservative attorneys and conservative groups? We need them to help stop this outrageous attack on our rights.
I don’t believe he can prove his charges. This a**hole’s scam is to keep bm2 repeal off the November ballot… for now. Fighting repeal with bs lawfare is an indicator of how corrupt RCV really is.
Kendall & Co doesn’t like it when the people speak against him. So he uses the legal system to throw a temper tantrum to get his way!
“Its not disenfranchising Alaskan voters when we do it!”
Yep
Let’s find a way to tangle up the petition in court to prevent it from moving forward.
What a bunch of amoral, slimy lizards.
Isn’t that what dems do for a living? Slime that is.
Atty Scott Kendall, you are flat out, blantantly LYING on every account that I am aware of! Every accusation that you are making is totally opposite of what actually occurred. Why do you have to lie like this? This lawsuit means that the voters have an excellent chance of getting ranked choice voting removed for good – you guys are scared to the point of manufacturing lies. Everything has been documented, so the documentation will prove your lies. You have stooped to a new low Kendall.
Well. He and the others who. Foisted it on us lied lied lied about how it would clean up state politics. Kendallwould have to work hard to rise to the level of pond scum
The state should be demanding legal fees from Kendall after he files so many frivolous lawsuits.
Little Scott Kendall at it again! Poor guy just needs constant attention and only way to get it in his life is sue someone!
These names were collected exactly like all other petitions over the years, including little Scott’s governor recall!
Amazing that it only bothers little Scott on this petition. Why? He is shocked a group of underfunded volunteers could challenge King Scott! This man has done more to the damage of elections in AK than any person I know! You would think little Scott would just tire of it all, but with his life this is the most exciting thing he can do!
Totally agree.
The day is coming when the Law will destroy Scott Kendall.
Heavenly father, hasten the day.
Amen brother north. Maybe the vac will catch up with him. He is definitely an enemy of Alaska.
Amen. If it is Your will, move on him Lord.
Can’t wait
Where’s the fly swatter?
They can’t have a Fair election because they will lose. Is this guy any relation to the Kendall’s that sell cars? We need to know so we don’t purchase anything from them. Boycott people.
“McGee is the former president of the local NAACP.”
That alone answers a lot of questions.
The Ugly card in this deck is the Superior Court Judge, undoubtedly a Leftist or Leftist enabler, who will resolve every doubt in favor of Mr. Kendall and his clients. Gotta look at the facts as they are revealed. It must be understood that the courts ALWAYS tilt Left and conservatives must be prepared to fight on that terrain. Expecting the courts to equally apply the law and treat parties with equal respect is a childish fantasy. Most judges view conservatives as “a basket of deplorables” and a “threat to OUR democracy”. These phrases reflect the mind-set of most judges.
“Always” is unsupportable proposition in this context.
OK, is “usually” good enough for you?
If he’s so confident Alaskans “want” RCV he should be thrilled they get to vote on it… without the combined language regarding donor financial transparency.
I got a book. The person who sent it to me was explicit in obtaining the signatures myself and notarizing my affidavit indicating that I collected the signatures. The instructions I received were not even close to the allegations made by Kendall.
I received multiple emails from the organization charting progress with specific dates and metrics noting that we would as a group need to collect far more signatures than the minimum threshold for exactly this reason.
Same here. I was reminded multiple times that I must never leave the book, and must be present when anyone signed it. I was always present. No one ever had my book but me.
I think Scott Kendall and his buddies need to take a flight on Mary P’s Bush Express.
Open Offer to Debate Me on the Merits of Rank Choice Voting.
Scott Kendall or anyone else, anytime, no preparation needed.
Yep: 32 page (thirty two!) description in the SOA Official Election “Pamphlet”, 1. End Dark Money in Elections, 2. Open Primaries to All Alaska Voters, (hint: 3rd Party election) 3. More freedom to choose the candidate that best reflects their positions . . . At best RCV is a mathematical shell game. RCV disenfranchises voters of little education, it dilutes the vote, has a ballot exhaustion rate over 10%,is not auditable, and has unintended/unforeseen consequences.
Deport Scott Kendall to that wonderful (not really) blue state of California, where he can run amok all he wants, and leave Alaska alone. He is a one man plague.
Send him to China where he can be a communist tyrant , too
The court allowed the measure to go on the ballot despite violating the single subject rule, now they need to allow the people to decide if they want to keep it.
By the Kendall logic put forth, ALL MAIL-IN BALLOTS are ‘unattended’ with unaccountable custody and should therefore be disallowed. The Kendall logic makes petitions more sacred than ballots!
[Elections need to go back to in-person, picture ID, paper ballot, ballot COUNT by machine to capture cumulative total, TALLY of VOTES per candidate/proposition by persons (not machines) at the PRECINCT level, ballots – by PRECINCT BATCH – securely sealed in a bag stored in a segregated vault (safety deposit box style) until 1) recount (again, by PRECINCT batch) then by 2) certification *NEVER to be commingled in larger batches than precincts* Each precinct to have one each D and R designated supervisors that would both have to be present with keys when ballots are outside the vault/security bag.]
Good point about the mail-in ballots!
How dare the little people think they can have a say in how we rule them.
I still don’t understand how the AKGOP didn’t sue to stop the afternoon drive radio host from pimping (sorry, but it is the most appropriate word) this insanity.
Typical Kendall technique – throw everything you can think of against the wall and see what sticks.
Judges need to be careful with this one despite how much they love RCV. Cheers –
Leftists throw a tantrum when they do not get what they want?
This is news?
How about we follow the Constitutional Voting and just throw out Rank Choice Selection and mail in ballot harvesting all together! If Demoncrats can’t legally win…they devise ways to cheat to win. No more illegal voting. Clean up Alaska voter rolls, get rid of computers and go back to hand counts! Then we will see change!
The Constitution gives individual states latitude to run their own elections. Provided said latitude doesn’t impact how other people in other states can vote.
This is the crucial detail overlooked by Colorado.
Kendall deserves the treatment given John Eastman. Maybe it’s time to start a lawfare campaign against this fellow. Use their tactics against them.
Nancy Dahlstrom, through the power of the Lt. Governor’s Office, should have been on top of this from the get go. She let this one get by, knowing full well what little twirp Scott Kendall’s modus operandi will be. Nancy Dahlstrom is too busy wanting to be in Congress and doesn’t have time to do her job as Lt. Governor. And that’s why I’m supporting Nick Begich and NOT Nancy Dahlstrom. Overseeing Alaska’s elections is a full time job, and that’s what Alaskans expect of their Lt. Governor.
The more I think about this, Nancy Dahlstrom was probably put in there to munge things up and try to distract us.
I think you’re right Ginny. DC has always hated Begich. He’s not for them and they despise people like that. It’s the same reason they had his grandfather taken out. Some people won’t be controlled.
Dahlstrom refused to sign the repeal petition. Did she undermine it?
She signed it and it will be on the ballot.
‘https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Repeal_Top-Four_Ranked-Choice_Voting_Initiative_%282024%29
Oops. Homer Gail, I think that I misinterpreted your statement. I heard that she did not sign the petition also. BUT, she did put the final approval stamp on it so that it would be on the General ballot. Hopefully, the AK LEG will feel inclined to remove rank choice voting before the election since the People have spoken.
If only they were this worried about tracking actual ballots used for voting as they seem to be about petitions regarding voting.
Also very telling: “Lee is a deputy treasurer on the Suzanne LaFrance for Mayor campaign team.”
Dahlstrom ran for Lt. Governor and now it looks like she botched the repeal ranked choice certification. Instead of running back and forth to DC looking for her next opportunity she should have been in Alaska DOING HER JOB!!!
All that hard work is now undone because of Nancy Dahlstrom’s incompetence.
What a worthless stooge.
You guys must be inserted lefties working for Kendall to put doubt in people’s minds. Dahlstrom did not botch the certification of the petition. There were enough properly filled out and state-verified petitiion books to get the REPEAL ranked choice voting on the upcoming General election ballot. All that hardwork that the volunteers did is not lost. Kendall is going to do everything he can to stop the ballot question from being on the ballot. He is going to lie about everything and bring down everyone he can to stop the question. Scum of the earth he is!
There is a small contingent of the Alaska population that causes the State to incur massive expenditures in defending against legal action and it would be nice to be able to find a way to run them out of the state.
Time to contact your legislator and demand that proposed legislation (HB 1, HB4, and SB 2) are passed this session!
See: ‘https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Similar/33?Root=HB%20%20%201
Thank you for the links GM. I will be contacting my legislator (and others!) to get rid of ranked choice voting.
People who work with her keep saying Dahlstrom is lazy and doesn’t pay attention to what she is doing. She’s almost 70 years old. She had Time to hang it up.
Isn’t Kendall the guy who has a brother-in-law up in Fairbanks running for mayor of that city? That guy used to be in the Legislature until he got kicked out by a Conservative candidate. Now he works for the teacher’s unions. I’m going to send the other mayor candidate a huge campaign contribution. Someone please get us a name and address. Thanks.
Yes. We are already putting together a campaign against Grier Hopkins to make sure he doesn’t get elected by his radical leftist pals in the teacher’s unions this fall. His brother in law Scott Kendall won’t win this one either.
Nancyyyyyyyyy!!!!! She was never qualified for the job and now Alaska pays the price.
This whole Repeat RCV is being orchestrated by out of state interest groups, and for some reason everyone on this comment thread is absolutely loving it. If only people were motivated by actual facts and not the typical Republican party fear mongering and propaganda.
What out of state interest groups are involved in the Repeal? Since I wrote the repeal and lead the effort, you obviously know something I don’t.
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