The record is clear: Rep. Mary Peltola’s reelection campaign is in so much trouble that she is now being aided by a close ally of one of the most notorious pedophiles in modern billionaire history.
A new Federal Election Commission financial report shows the “Welcome PAC” has put $25,000 into digital advertising for Peltola’s reelection campaign. That money came from a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, who reportedly committed suicide in prison after being convicted for his pedophiliac crimes.
The link to Epstein was made by a bot account that posts various FEC filings onto X/Twitter. It shows that LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a good friend of Epstein and a visitor to Epstein’s rape island in the past, is assisting in various Democrat congressional campaigns through the Welcome PAC. He is the largest donor to the PAC, which is helping Peltola.
Hoffman and the Welcome PAC has, for example, helped California Democrat Will Rollins, who is running for Congress again after losing in 2022 to Republican Rep. Ken Calvert of California’s 41st District.
“Hoffman gave the Welcome PAC nearly $1.2 million throughout the 2022 election, or more than half the $2 million in total receipts, federal filings show,” Fox News reported. The PAC then put one half a million dollars into Rollins campaign.
That is just one of many, however. Hoffman is a man who is busy trying to keep Democrats in office, no matter what. He has a reputation for playing dirty.
Now, Rep. Mary Peltola is in trouble with her voters, and has made it to the radar of the Welcome PAC.
Hoffman is well known for something else besides being pals with Epstein and helping Democrats. His name was tarnished after he worked to help Epstein repair his reputation, even after Epstein had been convicted for his crimes against girls on Epstein Island.
“Billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private island and had plans to stay at Epstein’s notorious Manhattan townhouse back in 2014, a new report revealed,” according to the New York Post. That island was the place where Ghislaine Maxwell, now in prison for trafficking young girls to Epstein, would arrange for guests to have sexual relations with girls as young as 12. Maxwell has a link to Alaska; she became a pal of Alice Rogoff, former owner of the Anchorage Daily News and wife of billionaire David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group.
Hoffman is by far the largest donor to the Welcome PAC, according to FEC records pulled by OpenSecrets.org:
A sample of some of the donors to the Welcome PAC, which is funding digital ads against Nick Begich to help Mary Peltola’s campaign.
Who else has Hoffman helped? All Democrats or Republicans who might defeat Donald Trump.
Hoffman donated $2 million to the Granite for America super PAC, which was formed to push a write-in campaign for Joe Biden in January, after Biden failed to make the ballot when the Democratic Party got into a primary schedule fight with the state of New Hampshire.
Hoffman also funded writer E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault suit against former President Donald Trump, as well as former Rep. Liz Cheney’s failed 2022 reelection campaign. He gives millions to anti-Trump organizations.
Peltola is polling poorly in Alaska, but can now look to the wolves of Wall Street for help repairing her own reputation with Alaska voters.
The University of Wyoming women’s volleyball team will forfeit and record a loss to San Jose State University, which has a transgender athlete on its women’s team.
“After a lengthy discussion, the University of Wyoming will not play its scheduled conference match against San José State University in the UniWyo Sports Complex on Saturday, Oct. 5. Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Wyoming. The Cowgirls will host Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the UniWyo Sports Complex,” the school said.
On Saturday, the Boise State women’s volleyball team forfeited to San Jose State. Southern Utah was the first to forfeit.
Neither school mentioned Blaire Fleming, the transgender on the SJSU team. Earlier, the Wyoming Cowgirls had held that they would play, but the safety concerns surfaced in recent days.
“I am in full support of the decision by @wyoathletics to forego playing its volleyball match against San Jose State. It is important we stand for integrity and fairness in female athletics,” wrote Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon on X/Twitter.
Alaska’s Rep. Jamie Allard, who has led the charge to protect girls and women’s sports in Alaska, issued this statement:
“University of Wyoming just took a bold stand for women’s sports, and I have to say, I love seeing it. They’re not backing down, they’re stepping up, and it’s about time. Female athletes deserve a fair playing field, and this move sends a clear message – we’re not putting up with this nonsense anymore. Now Wyoming is standing strong, and I encourage every female athlete to keep fighting for what’s right. Together, we can win this!”
San Jose State University issued its own statement to the online publication Outkick, which is at the forefront of reporting on the recent overtaking of women’s teams by transgenders:
“It is disappointing that our SJSU student athletes, who are in full compliance with NCAA and Mountain West rules and regulations, are being denied opportunities to compete,” the school wrote. “We are committed to supporting our student-athletes through these challenges and in their ability to compete in an inclusive, fair, safe and respectful environment.”
Outkick also reports that San Jose State University “had hid Fleming’s true sex, including from Fleming’s teammates, as Spartans volleyball player Brooke Slusser told OutKick’s Amber Harding.”
Slusser, has since joined in the lawsuit against the NCAA for its transgender policy. She said that when the team went on road trips, Fleming frequently specifically requested to room with Slusser, and the school’s team managers never told Slusser that Fleming was a biological male.
The Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions has determined that two police officers in Anchorage who shot Damien Dollison were justified in their use of deadly force.
At this hour, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, on of the harshest critics of police who use deadly force, has issued no opinion on the matter.
Anchorage police had received a call on July 8 that Dollison had pointed and fired a gun at someone at a Circle K store on Bragaw Street in Anchorage.
Officers Brandon Stack and Jacob Jones responded and shot Dollison, who had shot at them first with his shotgun. Earlier, Dollison had shot at another man in a truck, according to the charges. Dollison was hospitalized with wounds from the incident but is now housed at Goose Creek Correctional Center.
Dollison faces three counts of assault in the third degree and two counts of misconduct involving a weapon in the third degree. The case is being prosecuted by the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office.
On Monday, the Office of Special Prosecutions said that the Aug. 13 shooting by police of Easter Leafa in Anchorage was justified, since the teen would not drop her knife as she approached the officers who were trying to get her to disarm, after she had made threats against family members.
To date this year, all of the officer-involved shootings have been deemed justified by the Office of Special Prosecutions, which is in charge of investigating such cases.
The U.S. Coast Guard spotted four vessels from the Russian Border Guard and Chinese Coast Guard conducting a joint patrol in the Bering Sea on Saturday.
While patrolling the maritime boundary between the United States and Russia on routine patrol in the Bering Sea, a HC-130J Super Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak observed the vessels approximately 440 miles southwest of St. Lawrence Island, which is located southwest of Nome. Savoonga and Gambell, the villages on the island, are about 45 miles from the shoreline of Russia.
The Russian and Chinese vessels were moving in formation in a northeast direction, but stayed about five miles inside the Russian Exclusive Economic Zone.
This event is the northernmost location where Chinese Coast Guard vessels have been spotted by the U.S. Coast Guard.
“This recent activity demonstrates the increased interest in the Arctic by our strategic competitors,” said Rear Adm. Megan Dean, commander of the 17th Coast Guard District. “The demand for Coast Guard services across the region continues to grow, requiring continuous investment in our capabilities to meet our strategic competitors’ presence and fulfill our statutory missions across an expanding operational area.”
The HC-130 aircrew is operating under Operation Frontier Sentinel, which is designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters.
The Coast Guard’s presence strengthens the international rules-based order and promotes the conduct of operations in a manner that follows international law and norms.
Russian and Chinese presents along the waterways that separate the nations is becoming more frequent. Last month, the Pentagon sent 130 paratroopers to Shemya, an island in the Aleutian Chain, equipped with mobile missile launchers, in response to the regular occurrence of these sightings.
Also last week, a Russian fighter jet came within feet of a U.S. military jet that was on patrol along Alaska’s coast. The buzzing of the U.S. Air Force jet was a provocation unlike any seen in recent years.
The worst fear of the year is being realized today, as all-out war spreads in the Middle East. Israel is under attack from Iran.
Rocket sirens blared across Israel on Tuesday night as Iran launched over 180 ballistic missiles onto the country, killing at least one person, a Palestinian who was working in the city of Jericho, according to Israeli media. Tel Aviv was also hit, with one building taking a direct hit.
Missles fell in Tel Sheva, Tel Aviv, Dimona, Nabatim, Hora, Hod Hasharon, Beersheba, and Rishon Lezion, according to the Jerusalem Post.
“We are praying for the safety of the people of Israel as they are undergoing missile attacks launched by the terrorist regime in Tehran. The Biden-Harris administration’s appeasement of Iran must end. They need to be very clear: America stands with Israel. The terrorist regime in Iran will face consequences for this attack,” wrote U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan on social media on Tuesday morning.
RAW FOOTAGE: Watch as Iranian missiles rain over the Old City in Jerusalem, a holy site for Muslims, Christians and Jews.
President Joe Biden issued the following: “This morning, @VP and I convened our national security team to discuss Iranian plans to launch an imminent missile attack against Israel. We discussed how the United States is prepared to help Israel defend against these attacks, and protect American personnel in the region.” As of midafternoon East Coast Time, it was the only statement from the White House.
Congressional candidate for Alaska Nick Begich said, “Weak Democrat leadership in the White House has led to instability around the world, and encouraged aggression directed toward our allies. Today’s action by the Iranian government is a preview of the next four years should Harris, Peltola, and the rest of the Democrats gain control.”
Neither Sen. Lisa Murkowski or Rep. Mary Peltola issued any statement on the devastating attack on America’s ally. Peltola reminded Alaskans that it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and that regular checkups save lives.
Update: Sen. Lisa Murkowski issued a statement: “I am closely tracking and monitoring the latest ballistic missile attack against Israel, with nearly 200 missiles fired into the country. America must continue to stand with its closest ally as they defend themselves from the attacks of Iran and its terroristic regime. My prayers go out to all those affected by this indiscriminate attack.“
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he had spoken with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, “and he is determined and resolved to protect Israel from the threats of terrorism emanating from Iran. I can assure you Iran attacks Israel at their own peril. While I appreciate the Biden Administration’s statement, we cannot forget that when President Trump left office, Iran was weak economically, and he sent the regime the ultimate message with the elimination of Soleimani. The only thing the Iranian regime understands is strength. Now is the time to show unified resolve against Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism. We need decisive action, not just statements.”
As of 10 a.m. Alaska time, all Israelis are in bomb shelters around the country, Israeli Defense Forces reported.
Oct. 7 will be the one-year anniversary that Hamas terrorists, backed by Iran, launched a major raid on southern Israel, killing, raping, and kidnapping hundreds of Israeli citizens who were caught in the ambush.
On Monday, Israel launched a raid into neighboring Lebanon to attack the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah. The goal of the raid was to push Hezbollah forces away from the Israel-Lebanon border. U.S. officials said the offensive would last just a few days. But today, Iran has retaliated and sent the entire population of Israel into bomb shelters.
“Hezbollah had prepared to use those villages — as staging grounds for an October 7-style invasion…into Israeli homes. Hezbollah planned to invade Israel, attack Israeli communities, and massacre innocent men women and children.”
Fat Bear Week, held every year of the past decade by the National Park Service and its nonprofit partners at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, is a showcase of adipose-laden Ursus arctos horribilis, as they prepare to semi-hibernate (go into torpor) for the long and cold Alaska winter.
The public is invited to vote on which salmon-stuffed bear is the fattest.
This year, the Fat Bear Week celebration and guessing game runs Oct. 2-8, when the public can choose the bear that they think has the most fat to make it through the winter.
The contest, designed as a March Madness-style bracket in which bears compete daily in head-to-head matchups for the Fat Bear title, is at fatbearweek.org. There are no prizes except bragging rights.
“Fat Bear Week satisfies your hunger for bears, salmon, and the other wonders of Katmai,” said park Superintendent Mark Sturm, adding “all with one bite.”
The event also represents how government expands to fill whatever container it is placed in. While the costs of running the contest are negligible compared to the $35 trillion national debt, programs like this exist all over the federal bureaucracy. They are programs that could easily be done through private sector groups.
Fat Bear Week started in 2014 as a way to show off Katmai’s bears and teach about the ecosystem that allows them to thrive. Nearly 1.4 million votes were cast for the bears in 2023 from over a hundred countries.
The junior division of Fat Bear Week voting took place on Sept. 26 and 27.
I was on a conference call yesterday when my cell phone lit up. It was Frankie, a baseball buddy; a guy I coached when he was in Little League and I was just 19, and then again when he was in high school and I was fresh out of college. I couldn’t take Frankie’s call, but I quickly figured out why he dialed, as my phone started beeping non-stop with friends and family sending cryptic texts saying, “RIP Pete Rose”.
Peter Edward Rose, the man who played more games, had more at-bats, and accumulated more base hits than anyone who ever played Major League Baseball, died today. He was a legendary ballplayer and, very unfortunately, one of the most controversial figures in the annals of the game.
He loved everything about the game and could possibly have been the first unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame had he not, in the words of former Commissioner Bart Giamatti, “engaged in a variety of acts that have stained the game.”
But that’s enough of the ugly stuff.
Pete Rose was one of my childhood heroes. He was captain of my favorite team, the Cincinnati Reds. Those Reds’ teams of the 1970s – known as the Big Red Machine – had had an average season win percentage of .595, won five division titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series championships. Pete was Rookie of the Year in 1963, League MVP in 1973, and a three time batting champion, along with countless other achievements.
While Pete Rose loved statistics like those, it was the manner in which he approached his craft that made fans of us who grew up watching baseball in the 1960s and 70s. Pete played baseball the way it was meant to be played.
He drove roommates crazy because he woke up early in the morning to take 100 practice swings in his hotel room from each side of the plate (he was a switch hitter). He talked baseball non-stop, often to the annoyance of those sitting near him on cross-country plane flights.
During one memorable flight, Pete was sitting next to another player when they began experiencing terrible turbulence, causing the airplane to pitch and yaw, and the other player’s knuckles to turn white as he imagined the worst. Pete noticed the terror on the young man’s face and comforted him in a very Pete Rose manner, that went something like this . . .
“I think we’re going down,” Pete told him. “We’re all gonna’ die in a fiery explosion.” Seeing that the kid was scared and knowing, even worse, that he was struggling with the bat lately, a smiling Rose quipped, “But at least I’ll go down knowing I have a .300 lifetime batting average. What’re you hitting?”
Such was the never ceasing, always competitive attitude of Charlie Hustle, as he became known, the moniker courtesy (as baseball legend has it) of Yankee greats Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford. The irony is that Mickey and Whitey were using it derogatorily, mocking the brash young rookie’s over-efforting, while Rose took it as a compliment and literally ran with it. He sprinted to first base when he drew a walk, and he sprinted around the bases on the rare occasion that he hit one out of the park.
Charlie Hustle slid headfirst into bases, prompting millions of us kids to do the same . . . much to the horror of our mothers and damage to our fingers and forearms. We had dirt all over the fronts of our uniforms, a sign that we played the game the Pete Rose way, the way our fathers taught us to admire. Run hard, play to win, always do your absolute best, and be a loyal teammate.
I even crouched low in my batting stance because that’s how Pete Rose stood at the plate. I had some good seasons and some really bad seasons, but was good enough to make all my high school baseball teams. Unfortunately, the worse I batted, the lower I would crouch until I was curled up in a fetal position that took so long to uncoil from that the catcher was already throwing the ball to the pitcher when I was still finishing my swing.
Coach Grover knew how much I loved baseball and how much I was pressing because I wasn’t hitting. So, one practice during my sophomore season, while taking batting practice from a stance that resembled a slumbering rattlesnake more than a fearsome hitter, Coach Grover asked me why I was crouched down so low. Realizing the question wasn’t meant to be a compliment, and feeling rather embarrassed that I was doing it only to be like Pete Rose, I blushed, avoided eye contact, and didn’t say anything. Coach knew I was a Reds fan, so he just smiled and nodded. “That’s what I thought,” he said. “Try standing up and let’s see if we can quicken your swing and let you see the ball better.”
My batting average rose a hundred points over the next couple games, and while I may have straightened my stance, I didn’t give up running out a walk or sliding headfirst. Pete Rose never gave up playing hard or loving the game.
During game six of the 1975 World Series – arguably the best baseball game of all time – Pete came to bat late in the game as the clock neared midnight. “Isn’t this some kind of game?” he asked Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk. After the Red Sox won that contest on Fisk’s dramatic 12th inning home run, forcing a seventh and decisive game, Pete was so overwhelmed by the excitement and enormity of the game that he couldn’t stop talking about it, even after the Reds boarded their team bus in the wee hours of the morning to head back to their hotel.
Manager Sparky Anderson had enough already. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep after watching his team blow a late-inning lead and a chance to win the championship that had so frustratingly eluded his vaunted 108-win ballclub, and he essentially told his team captain to put a cork in it, adding something along the lines of “Big Red Machine my ass.” Pete guaranteed his skipper that they would win game seven and the championship. They did, and Pete was voted MVP of the Series.
After the 1978 season, which saw Rose hit safely in 44 consecutive games (second only to Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game streak), the inconceivable occurred as Pete and the Reds parted company with Rose opting to test the rather new free agent market and become the highest paid player in the game by signing with the Philadelphia Phillies.
This treachery was made all the worse because Andy, one of my very best friends, was a diehard Phillies fan, forcing me to endure references to Pete the Phillie pretty much every time I saw him. (Andy was the sender of one of those texters who sent a text announcing Pete’s passing.)
It was years before I – and many other Reds’ fans – forgave Charlie Hustle for leaving the team and town in which he grew up, but we are a fickle lot when it comes to our baseball idols. It didn’t take long after Pete returned to Cincinnati in 1984, this time as player-manager, that his unforgivable betrayal was rather quickly forgiven. We had to forgive because he loved the game, and he played it with such vigor that it is impossible not to admire him.
The debate over whether Pete’s gambling indiscretions should still be prevent him from being allowed into the Hall of Fame will rage over the next few days, perhaps into the next voting cycle. Perhaps the Hall will do what was done after Roberto Clemente tragically died and make an exception to enshrine him. I wouldn’t bet on it (pun intended), but there is no one from a purely baseball performance point of view that deserves it more.
Tim Barto is vice president of Alaska Family Council, and a lifelong baseball fan. He was involved at every level with the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks of the Alaska Baseball League, including president, coach, PA announcer, play-by-play broadcaster, and writer. He will miss Pete Rose and the way Pete Rose played the game.
Anchorage police officer Alexander Roman will not be charged, since he was “legally justified in his use of deadly force against Easter Leafa,” according to the report from the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions.
“Today, the Office of Special Prosecutions completed its review of an officer-involved shooting on August 13, 2024, involving Easter Leafa, 16, and Anchorage Police Department Officer Alexander Roman,” the Department of Law said in a statement.
“The review determined that Officer Roman was legally justified in his use of deadly force against Easter Leafa. The incident occurred after APD received a 911 call alleging Ms. Leafa had threatened a family member with a knife and responded to the report,” the department said. The Office of Special Prosecutions investigates all such officer-involved shootings in the state.
After the incident in August, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance jumped to the conclusion that the police officers were wrong to shoot the teen, although she was a large person who started coming at them with a large knife. She said the shot should never have been fired.
Anchorage Police have had to deal with an increasing number of violent individuals over the past year, and Mayor LaFrance made a public announcement that the police were at fault and that she would open up her own investigation with a third party.
To date, none of the police involved in shooting of suspects has been prosecuted by the Office of Special Prosecutions. There have been five officer-involved shootings in 2024 in Anchorage.
After meeting with the police union officials who supported her campaign, LaFrance then halfway apologized for apologizing for the Easter Leafa incident.
The group trying to retain the controversial ranked-choice voting method in Alaska wants voters to mark ‘No’ on Ballot Measure 2 so badly that they are using veterans as a way to tug at the heartstrings of voters, who are being falsely told that veterans will have to register with a political party in order to vote in the Alaska primary, if Ballot Measure 2 passes.
The information in the “No on 2” ads is 100% false.
This year, voting “Yes” on Ballot Measure 2 would return Alaska voting to its normal procedure of one vote per person.
The matter is so confusing to voters that the No on 2 advertisements have been getting away with peddling materially false information this campaign season.
But now, the disinformation ads have brought out the “Yes on 2” team to object to the lies being told on the air.
This “Yes on 2” team is a grassroots group that has little money to fight the dark Outside money flowing into the state to keep ranked-choice voting in place. But the group has lots of determination to undo the damage ranked-choice voting has done to Alaska over the past two years.
Outspent by more than $7.8 million, the “Yes on 2” can’t run counter ads to the false claims being made about military and veteran voters. But it can demand that radio stations cease and desist airing patently false information that pertains to a ballot measure.
Mikaela Emswiler, on behalf of the board of directors of Yes on 2, has done just that — demanded radio stations pull down the ad.
In a letter to the management of several radio stations, she writes, “Specifically: No registered voter, including veterans, was required to register with a political party to vote in a primary election before the implementation of jungle primaries through Alaska’s Ballot Measure 2 in 2022.”
Her letter continues: “No voter, including veterans, will be required to register with a political party to vote in a primary election if the jungle primary is repealed through new Ballot Measure 2 in Alaska’s November 2024 election.”
As proof, she points out, the Republican Party platform, which remains unamended on this point since before the jungle primary was implemented in 2020, states that “Only registered Republicans, registered Independents, and those who state no preference of party affiliation shall be allowed to vote in the Republican Primary Election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, US Senator, US Representative, and members of the State Legislature.”
Members of the Democrat Party can vote in their own primary ballot, the letter says, like they did before the new system went into effect in 2022.
“The statements made in this advertisement are either knowingly false or made with reckless disregard for the truth. Such false statements have the potential to mislead voters and interfere with the democratic process. The Board of Yes on 2 hereby demands that Vision Alaska: Immediately cease and desist from airing the aforementioned “No on 2″ advertisement” and “Provide written assurance within five (5) business days that you will cease and desist from further airing of this advertisement,” Emswiler writes on behalf of “Yes on 2.”
The board says in its letter that there are remedies if the radio stations do not comply. Among those remedies are monetary damages and a complaint filed with the Federal Communications Commission.
The “No on 2” group repeated the lie in its letter back to the stations in response to the cease-and-desist letter.
Lawyer Thomas Amodio lied when he wrote, “Accordingly, the ad being attacked by Yo2 does not contain any false statements. To the contrary, the ad fairly states what would happen if BM2 passes and a party closed its primary—the voter would have to register in that party to ensure being able to vote in that party’s primary.”
It’s not true, however, and Amodio knows it. People who are not registered in any party were always allowed to vote in the Republican primary, which was only partially closed — to Democrats and those members of other formal parties — to prevent those parties from making mischief in the primary and advancing a candidate to the general election who Republicans didn’t vote for.
The Yes on 2 group responded to Amodio’s false claim with their own letter back to the stations, doubling down on their warning to pull the ad:
“I am writing in response to the letter you received from Reeves Amodio LLC, on behalf of its clients No on 2, regarding Yes on 2’s support for Ballot Measure 2 to repeal the state of Alaska’s jungle primary election and ranked choice election system. After careful review, I must respectfully point out several inaccuracies in the statements made in their letter:
1. Claim: “[N]o Alaska court would give credence to Yo2’s baseless claims…” “Fact Check: Under Alaska Statute AS 15.56.014(a)(3 ), it is a violation of the law to knowingly communicate false information about a candidate or a ballot measure. This statute defines campaign misconduct in the second degree as knowingly making a communication: (A) containing false factual information relating to a candidate for an election; (B) that the person knows to be false; and (C) that a reasonable person would construe as damaging to the candidate’s reputation for honesty or integrity, or to the candidate’s qualifications to serve if elected to office.
“The statute further states that violation of this section is a corrupt practice. It is important to note that the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) applies the definition of “express communication” equally to ballot propositions and measures as well as to candidate elections. In other words, the State of Alaska interprets laws applicable to “candidates“ as equally applicable to “ballot measures.“ This interpretation has been longstanding and was recently highlighted in the Brief of Appellee, Alaska Policy Forum v. APOC, 2023 WL 3972969 at ‘”12-21 (Alaska Apr. 4, 2023). The brief describes APOC’s established practice of using this definition to identify express communications in the context of ballot measures. This broader application of the “express communication” definition underscores the importance of accuracy in all election-related communications, whether they pertain to candidates or ballot measures. It further emphasizes the potential legal implications of disseminating false information relating to election issues.
2. Claim: “The Republican Party of Alaska (RPA) sued for the right to close its primary to anyone who was not a registered Republican (or undeclared or unaffiliated). That was the state of Alaska’s primaries before the voters passed OP/RCV 4 years ago. OP/RCV returned Alaska to the commendable, open primary system.”
Fact Check: This statement is false. The primary system before the implementation of jungle primaries and ranked-choice voting (OP/RCV) already allowed undeclared voters and Independents to participate in the Republican primary, as evidenced by the Republican Party’s own 2020 platform. The Republican Party of Alaska’s own 2020 platform, Section 10(a), clearly states: “Only registered Republicans, registered Independents, and those who state no preference of party affiliation shall be allowed to vote in the Republican Primary Election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, US Senator, US Representative, and members of the State Legislature.“ (emphasis added)
“This demonstrates that the Republican primary was open to more than just registered Republicans.
“Moreover, under the prior election system, the Alaska Democrat Party permitted voters who were not registered to as Democrats to vote in their party primary. Voters did not have to register as Democrats to vote in the Alaska Democrat Party’s primary.
3. Claim: “[T]he ad fairly states what would happen if BM2 passes and a party closed its primary-the voter would have to register in that party to ensure being able to vote in that party’s primary. From its plain wording, BM2 allows any party to close its primary.”
“Fact Check: Ballot Measure 2 (BM2) explicitly states: “Elections will occur exactly as they did before a previous ballot measure changed the election laws in 2022.” (emphasis added) This means that if passed, the election system would revert to the previous system where people who were not registered with a political party could still vote in the Republican and Democrat party primaries. This is the exact opposite of what Reeves Amodio claims (that voters would have to register to vote in that party to be able to vote in that party’s primary).
“ConclusionThe Reeves Amodio LLC letter is full of misinformation. Given the discrepancies between the claims made in the Reeves Amodio LLC letter and the documented facts, including the Republican Party of Alaska’s own platform and the text of Ballot Measure 2, it is imperative that this information be corrected to ensure voters have accurate information about the State’s upcoming election and the potential changes proposed by BM2. The Board of Yes on 2 hereby reiterates that CBI Media Group: Immediately cease and desist from airing the aforementioned “No on 2” advertisement regarding the false claims about how BM2 will limit veterans’ participation in primaries. Provide written assurance within five (5) business days that you will cease and desist from further airing of this advertisement. If you do not comply with this cease and desist demand, the Board of Yes on 2 is prepared to pursue all available legal remedies, including seeking monetary damages and equitable relief. We further are prepared to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against your station for intentionally distorting the news about this important ballot initiative to Alaskan voters in its broadcasting. CBI Media Group is hereby directed to preserve and maintain all records, documents, and communications related to this advertisement and its airing, as they may be relevant to potential future legal action. We further request that you keep a copy of this letter in your public file, as required bylaw. We greatly appreciate your support in ensuring your broadcasting accurately reflects the truth about the proposed state of Alaska’s primary election system.
The “No on 2” group also is sending mailers to the homes of voters, with dark imagery of soldiers in combat, warning with the same false information that they won’t be able to vote in the Alaska primary if people get rid of ranked-choice voting. The mailer is not only misleading, it is materially false.
