The public unions have published their list of endorsement. Unsurprisingly, they are mostly Democrats or that new breed of Democrat that is registered as not aligned with a party. Rep. Louise Stutes of Kodiak also got an endorsement, even though she is a registered Republican.

But the Alaska Public Employees Association (AFL-CIO) disrespected one of their endorsees. While referring to candidate Jamin Burton as “Dr.” in respect of his PhD, the union ignored the PhD in soil science that gives candidate Liz Snyder the right to the “Dr.” honorific.

That likely didn’t go unnoticed by Snyder, who several weeks began referring to herself as Dr. Liz Snyder on campaign literature, a change noted by critics who say she is trying to appear to be a medical doctor at a time when people are looking for leadership in health decisions. Like Burton, she is an educator in the University of Alaska system.

Snyder is running for House District 27 against incumbent Republican Rep. Lance Pruitt in what is considered to be a “must win” for both the Democratic Party and Republican Party.

One of the charges made by the Recall Dunleavy Committee is that the governor used state funds for partisan political purposes. That matter has now been put to rest.

The complaint concerned social media posts and mailed flyers by the Governor’s Office to get the public engaged to push to put the Permanent Fund dividend in the Alaska Constitution.

Seven categories of problematic communications were alleged in the one complaint made. But only one category of communication was found to be possibly problematic by the special counsel to the Personnel Board, who thought it crossed the line to partisan political purpose: A mailer.

Some of the language in the mailer landed in the districts of two legislators who had filed their notices that they intended to run for reelection. Because in the communications, the Governor’s Office had referred to those legislators, this could be seen as partisan politicking.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy had no role in the drafting, design, publishing, or approving the communications that went out from his office, and did not intend for State resources to be used for partisan purposes. The media campaign was done by staff at the broad direction of the governor to do outreach to the public, according to the settlement.

However, rather than fight it, the governor has decided to resolve it by reimbursing the State $2,800 for the communications. He has not admitted guilt and expresses concern that governors in the future may be held financially liable for the actions of their staffs.

“I don’t believe I violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act. Nevertheless, I believe it is in the best interests of the State to resolve these complaints, and, for this reason, I am reimbursing the State for the cost of these advertisements and ensuring that my staff undergoes all appropriate ethics training. I am also taking this opportunity to remind the devoted public servants in my office of the very high ethical standards that Alaskans rightly demand,” Dunleavy wrote.

The matter never was heard by The Alaska Personnel Board but was resolved by Dunleavy and the Board’s special counsel John J. Tiemessen.

Read the settlement statement here:

The recount is over and Kathy Henslee, who ran against Connie Dougherty in the Republican Primary, is the winner — by 5 votes — in District 23, Anchorage.

That’s one more vote than Henslee had before the recount was requested by Dougherty. The final count is 633 to 628.

“If you ever needed any more evidence that every vote counts, look no further than this race. Just over 19% of District 23 registered voters participated in the election,” said Kris Warren, district chairman for D-23 Republicans. “Shameful.”

Henslee will go forward to challenge Rep. Chris Tuck in the General Election. Tuck is the Democrat incumbent who serves a district that is majority Republican, with 2,696 registered GOP to 2,100 registered Democrats.

Dougherty’s political career is not over. Several are talking about getting her to run for the Anchorage Assembly, as she has had two races that have built her name recognition in the Campbell Creek-Taku area of Anchorage.

A group of litigants has lost in court in their effort to force the Division of Elections to mail absentee ballot applications to every Alaska voter.

The lawsuit brought by Anchorage attorney Scott Kendall on behalf of an outside group called Equal Citizens, was filed this summer after the Division of Elections and the lieutenant governor decided to mail absentee ballot applications to Alaskan voters over the age of 65, because they are at greater risk for serious complications from the COVID-19 coronavirus and may choose to vote from home, rather than in person.

No good deed goes unpunished, as the saying goes, and by helping out senior citizens, Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer attracted a lawsuit from Kendall, who also heads up the effort to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy and who also represents Ballot Measure 2, an effort to dismantle the Republican Party’s primary ballot and enact a “jungle primary.”

The lawsuit represented individuals under the age of sixty-five that Kendall said also face high-risk complications from the virus or who may not have access to medical treatment. The lawsuit alleges that by only mailing absentee ballot applications to those 65 years or older, the state is discriminating.

In Alaska, any voter may request an absentee ballot for any reason; the Division of Elections took a belt-and-suspenders safety approach to senior citizens, which are a high risk group. The state also launched an online application to increase access to absentee ballots.

Joining the lawsuit as “amici parties” (friends of the court) were Alaska Community Action on Toxics, The Alaska Center (for the Environment) Education Fund, and Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii.

They suggested that Alaska Natives are a high-risk population, too. And so are blacks and Pacific Islanders. Mostly, it appeared that the lawsuit was trying to increase the turnout of Democrat ballots, judging from the description they provided.

But Judge Joshua Kindred said that he was not going to second-guess the lieutenant governor on the decision to mail absentee ballot applications to senior citizens. Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer had earlier said that group typically has a more difficult time with digital technology and might not be able to fill out an online application for an absentee ballot.

The judge acknowledged that Kendall had some good points, but not enough of them to sway the judge to get involved in forcing the State to conduct elections according to the Kendall prescription.

“Importantly, Plaintiffs minimize the reality that the State already has provided a path to mail-in voting to all Alaskans, and that remains true regardless of whether this Court were to grant a preliminary injunction,” Kindred wrote.

Referring to the attorney’s argument, the judge said it was not only “wanting, but appears to this Court to be fatally flawed.”

He continued: “First, it views the balance of hardships in a selective and convenient vacuum, conducting the balancing exercise without due consideration of Defendants’ perspective. Furthermore, Plaintiffs missed an opportunity to remedy this deficiency in their reply, instead reducing Defendants’ articulation of hardship as speculative. Second, and perhaps more damning, Plaintiffs misstate the purported harm. Every voter does have the right to an absentee ballot. Nothing about Defendants’ actions that give rise to this litigation alters the ability for all Alaskans to vote by mail. Nor do Defendants’ actions alter the fact that all Alaskans must apply to exercise their right to vote by mail. “

Read Judge Kindred’s entire decision here:

LT. GOV. SAYS THANKS, BUT HE’LL FOLLOW THE LAW

The ACLU of Alaska and associated groups are threatening to sue the Lt. Governor and the Division of Elections because the groups say people should not have to have their absentee ballot signatures witnessed.

If Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer actually waived the witnessing requirement, he would be breaking Alaska Statute.

But the groups are peeved because Democrats made a big effort to get out the absentee Democrat vote, and more than 10 percent of the extra votes they can rightfully take credit for — some 1,200 votes — were thrown out because the voters didn’t follow directions and have their ballots witnessed.

“The ACLU of Alaska, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the Native American Rights Fund call upon Alaska’s Lt. Governor, Kevin Meyer, to remove an unnecessary voting barrier facing Alaskans in the November General Election,” the group wrote to the lieutenant governor on Monday. The groups say the law “disenfranchises many voters who would have to choose between their health and their vote if the rule continues to be upheld.”

Alaska is one of 11 states that requires a witness to verify that the person signing the ballot is really the voter. It’s a loose requirement that provides a modicum of election security. Alaska is a “no excuse” voting state already, with some of the most liberal absentee ballot rules around — any registered voter can vote one, even if they are not technically absent from their district. It’s Alaska’s functional mail-in ballot, but it has that one requirement: Did someone else see you sign that ballot?

Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer wrote a letter back to the consortium: “I am sure you would agree that election integrity begins with following the law. If an election is not conducted legally by following the statutes duly passed by the legislature, there can be no basis to believe in the election’s integrity. Making exceptions to the statutes, even on a piecemeal basis, would erode the foundation upon which Alaskans have built their faith in the election process.”

Meyer went on to say the Office of Lt. Governor lacks the power to unilaterally waive the statutory witness requirement.

“The witness requirement is central to the absentee ballot statutory scheme and is not a mere procedural requirement. AS 15.20.081(d) sets forth the witness requirement, and AS 15.20.203(b)(2) mandates that an absentee ballot be rejected and not counted if it is not properly witnessed. 

“If my office were to ignore this clear statutory language and count ballots that were not properly witnessed, those absentee ballots could later be invalidated in a court challenge. It would be irresponsible for me to tell voters not to follow the witness requirement and risk their votes not counting.

“Like you, I care deeply about every Alaskan’s safety during this pandemic, and we have learned a lot over these past several months about how to best prevent spreading the virus. Just like going to the grocery store or receiving deliveries at your home, maintaining a social distance of six feet and wearing masks goes a long way and both of these can be accomplished for witnessing a ballot. Witnessing could also take place through a window if necessary. Although not ideal, we are all having to change the way we do things, and I would encourage voters to think creatively about how to fulfill this requirement in a safe manner.”

The group had demanded a response from the lieutenant governor by Friday, and received the response in the afternoon that day.

“We are prepared to use every tool in our arsenal to beat back unnecessary barriers to absentee voting faced by voters in Alaska, including restrictive witness requirements,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.