Mikaela Emswiler: The ballot bandits from out of state are undermining Alaska’s elections

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By MIKAELA EMSWILER

In a dramatic turn of events, the Alaska Democrat Party is now expressing disdain over the ranked-choice voting system with the same fervor that Republicans have shown for years. This change in attitude is fueled by the shocking inclusion of an out-of-state felon on the House ballot –a development that has ignited significant backlash within the Democrat party.

Eric Hafner, a Democrat currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in New York for threatening public officials in New Jersey, has never lived in Alaska and has no ties to the state. Yet, astonishingly, he has advanced to the “final four” candidates on the November ballot due to the dropout of two competitors ahead of him.

How did an incarcerated felon with no Alaskan residency even make it onto our ballot? This fact highlights one of the glaring flaws in our damaged election system.

Hafner’s unexpected place on the November ballot has ignited a strong response from the Democratic Party, who recently sued the Division of Elections in an unsuccessful attempt to remove Hafner. Hafner’s inclusion threatens to split the vote, echoing the 2022 Palin-Begich dynamic.

But Hafner’s place on the ballot isn’t the first instance we’ve seen of outsiders attempting to influence our elections. In 2022, Shoshana Gungurstein, an actress from California, launched a campaign in Alaska for U.S. Senate.

Gungurstein registered to vote in Alaska in April of 2022, then subsequently filed her candidacy. Gungurstein’s late registration disqualified her from running in any state-level races, but the US Constitution, being looser with its election laws, allowed her to run for US Senate. Her campaign was also primarily funded by out-of-state sources.

Between the rising occurrences of outsiders attempting to weasel their ways into our elections, suspicion about Dominion voting machines, and the influx of dark money from outside sources, have led both Democrats and Republicans to question the integrity of our election system. It’s clear that our democratic process is under threat.

Alaska’s Supreme Court has already addressed the unconstitutionality RCV, but the fight isn’t over. Support our efforts by visiting www.yeson2ak.com and voting YES ON 2 this November to ditch RCV as our electoral method.

Michaela Emswiler is with Yes on 2, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for all Alaskans by providing education and advocacy concerning policy issues impacting Alaska and the nation, including education and research about how Alaskan elections operate.

8 COMMENTS

  1. Thank you for sharing you website – yeson2ak.com. I am really disappointed that the Alaska GOP is not being more vocal to get rid of this. They are supposed to be made up of We The People; but, their lack of activity makes me think that there are not many “We The People” that makes up our GOP. It is up to The People to defeat this and then we should look at getting rid of the AK GOP!

    • All the Alaska GOP folks I’ve talked with are very concerned with RCV and are supporting Yes on 2 in every meeting and event I’ve been to this year. So you want the Alaska GOP to come out in force against RCV, and despite all their time and efforts here working towards regaining a republican majority in the Alaska and the US House and Senate, you’re calling to get rid of the AK GOP? Did you get a chance to watch the Alaska Supreme court hearing today on the US House race RCV issue? The Alaska GOP intervened in that case, specifically on behalf of Alaskan republicans and to expose the insanity of RCV. Right now we have some critical elections to win here in Alaska if we want to have any chance at curbing runaway spending and liberal policies. I too would like to see more effort put into repealing RCV, so I hope you (and all of us) get a chance to donate to or volunteer for Yes on 2, because this effort must be grassroots here, it’s on all of us. If you haven’t already seen, big outside donors are already running ads here, ironically claiming that “elites” and “outside money” (referring to us) are trying to get rid of RCV! Blasphemy… sadly, politics is still an ugly game.

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