By SEAN MORAN / BREITBART NEWS

On Nov. 3, Alaskans will vote on Ballot Measure 2, which would force Alaskans to vote for their political leaders on so-called “ranked-choice voting” or RCV. Voters using RCV would assign a numerical rank to multiple candidates rather than voting for their preferred candidate.

Defend Alaska Elections, which opposes ranked-choice voting, contended that this might appear fairer; however, ranked-choice voting often results in the winner of the election receiving less than a majority of the votes cast.

This week Defend Alaska Elections announced that they had surpassed the pro-ranked choice voting group’s fundraising in less than two months of fundraising.

The latest fundraising figures found that the anti-ranked choice campaign had collected 336 donations from Alaskans. The Yes campaign only collected 296 donations from Alaskans since they started campaigning in July 2019.

The numbers reveal that the Yes on 2 for Better Elections had raised $6,194,081 from outside Alaska and had only raised $20,000 from inside the state.

In contrast, Defend Alaska Elections raised $323,542 from Alaska and $141,583 from out-of-state.

Brett Huber, the campaign manager for Defend Alaska Elections, said in a statement this week that they will continue to fight dark money’s influence in Alaska’s elections.

Huber said:

With just $20,000 in Alaskan donations, in-state backers of Ballot Measure 2 represent a miniscule 0.3 percent of the Yes campaign’s dark-money haul — little more than a rounding error for the political operatives hired by out-of-state billionaires to promote Ballot Measure 2. In less than two months, Alaskans stepping up to defend our fair and transparent elections against Outside dark money have donated more than 15 times this amount.

Huber added, “While we remain outgunned by billionaires from New York and California and millions in out-of-state dark money, our donors have something the Outside billionaires don’t: the right to vote in Alaska.”

Former Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell (R) and former Alaska Sen. Mark Begich (D) wrote in an op-ed in July that ranked-choice voting would harm Alaska’s elections.

“As former elected officials from different parties, we’ve had our share of disagreements,” the former lawmakers wrote. “But we are united in our belief that the Better Elections initiative would be bad for our state. Alaskans shouldn’t have to doubt that their votes count.”

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

By KEN KOELSCH

We got our first television in the late 1950s on our family farm.  After the evening chores were done, the family would gather by the TV instead of listening to the radio. 

We could get reception from just two distant TV stations so, if anyone wanted to change channels, one of the kids was designated to go outside and move the antenna until the picture and sound became clear. 

“Dragnet” with its main character, Sergeant Joe Friday, was a family favorite.  The expression “Just the Facts, Ma’am” is attributed to that show.

Facts can be defined as the truth about events as opposed to interpretation.  In this current election cycle, facts fail to be presented with reliability or civility.  The only bright “fact” spot this election year was our local Juneau election. While municipal election results didn’t turn out to everyone’s satisfaction, our local candidates campaigned on the issues with civility and class.  

The current presidential campaign, on the other hand, is at the opposite end of the civility spectrum compared to our local election. 

But Alan Gross’s campaign for the U.S. Senate dominates the media and completely lacks any decency or class.  The outside political groups behind Alan Gross, the Democrat nominee, are determined to win this election at any cost.

It is impossible to escape the sheer volume of distorted, divisive “facts’ and innuendo that arrive hourly and sometimes minute by minute over the airwaves, social media and in our mail.  This U. S. Senate race will undoubtedly go down as the most negative in Alaska history.  

Here are some facts: I’m supporting and voting for Dan Sullivan for U.S. Senator and hope you will consider doing likewise.   

Sullivan supports Fisheries.  Sullivan does not support the Pebble mine.  

Sullivan supports insurance companies being required to accept pre-existing medical conditions.  Sullivan does not support Obamacare and its taxation of private insurance plans and uninsured individuals.

Sullivan supports lower cost prescription drugs.  He has voted against efforts to allow “unsafe” or “unapproved” prescription drugs into the U. S.

Sullivan supports our military and law enforcement. 

Sullivan secured $1.6 billion in new military construction for Alaska.   Sullivan helped increase personnel and modernize vessels for the U. S Coast including new cutters for SE Alaska.

Sullivan has championed “Choose Respect” campaigns for women and aided survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

He fought to keep and to increase Federal work positions based in Juneau which make up almost 7% of our workforce.  

When the pandemic struck, Sullivan fought for and helped secure billions of dollars for Alaska in the CARES Act that translated into over $53 million for the CBJ and millions more for local Native entities, fisheries, Juneau International Airport and Bartlett Regional Hospital.  

Those funds helped maintain our police and fire units, our school system, our local businesses, our tourism industry, our homeless, our arts, our hospitality organizations, and our non-profits.  

The composition and powers of the Senate were established by Article One of the United States Constitution.  The Senate is considered the more deliberative and prestigious body of Congress due to its longer terms (6 years) and its smaller size (100 members).  

As a freshman senator, Dan Sullivan was the primary sponsor of 10 bills that were enacted into law and they range from Save Our Seas to the Veteran Advocacy Act of 2020.  

Sullivan was designated in the top 10% of most effective bipartisan senators and is respected on both sides of the aisle.  He has earned respect as a tireless fighter for Alaska and its people. Sullivan has served with honor in D. C.  

 Fact is, Senator Sullivan has earned re-election.

Please join me in voting to send Dan Sullivan back to the U.S. Senate for a second term.

Ken Koelsch is the former mayor of Juneau.