Ballot Measure 2, which narrowly was approved by voters in 2020, had the effect of destroying the Republican primary, a time when Republicans and non-party voters could choose their candidates for the November ballot. Now, a guy like former Gov. Bill Walker, who left the Republican Party years ago, can appear on the November ballot as a Republican and fool voters into thinking he is a Republican. A guy like Chris Constant, now a Democrat running for Congress, could re-register as a Republican and fool the voters as a poser.
The Alaska Republican Party this weekend revised the definition of “membership.” Now, anyone registered as a Republican is considered a “participant” in the Republican Party. That means Alaska Republican Party Chairwoman Ann Brown is a participant, not a member. Voters who are registered as Republicans are participants, and so are district chairs, precinct leaders, or party activists.
Read: With Ballot Measure 2, Alaska won’t have representation in Congress until late August
Membership has a new meaning. It applies to candidates who want to appear with an “R” by their name on the ballot. Henceforth, a member in the Republican Party means the candidate has applied to the newly created membership committee, made up of party leaders, who have the authority to approve or disapprove membership. Without membership, the State Division of Elections is not authorized by the party to say a candidate may have that “R” by their name on the ballot. According to state law, candidates may have the letter corresponding with their party “membership” on the ballot.
The membership committee will be co-chaired by the party’s national committeewoman and national committeeman. It will include the seven regional representatives for the party and eight others elected at the convention, or by appointment by the state central committee in the interim.
While it’s too late to do anything about the special primary election ballot that will be in the mail this week for the temporary replacement for Alaska’s congressional seat, the party intends to forward its new rule to the Alaska Attorney General and ask the state to review and enforce it.
The State will likely want to do that, because there are constitutional considerations involving the rights of assembly and the right to association as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. The State of Alaska, including the Division of Elections, would probably not want to go against a political group that limits its membership by forcing it to accept members.
The new rule was fine-tuned extensively over the two-day meeting of the Alaska Republican Party and passed the State Central Committee unanimously.
Other rule changes that were passed by the party include:
- The party adopted new rule to allow for districts and the State Central Committee to nominate a single Republican candidate for any state party office. If a nominee gets 80 percent of the State Central Committee vote, for example, they are considered endorsed exclusively.
- Any Republican candidate member can be endorsed by any club or district or the State Central Committee. More than one candidate may be endorsed.
- A vote of censure takes 60 percent, and now has the effect of prohibiting any party official from engaging in any activity promoting that candidate and prevents that candidate from participating in any party event.
- The membership committee can revoke membership of a candidate by a two-thirds vote.
- A vote of censure expires after the next election for that candidate. At this point, only House Rep. Kelly Merrick and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski are censured.
The new rules were adopted unanimously by the State Central Committee.
This is a solution that will make a lot of work for the party but maybe this is temporary as a solution until voters can figure out a way to get rid of Ballot Measure 2. Hopefully Lisa won’t get to run as a Republican this year. She needs to go!
Ya but most of her support comes from democrats. If you recall, when she was running against Miller the democrats tossed their own candidate under the bus and gave full support to Murky. Without a big democrat turnout, she would not stand a chance.
Hope this solution passes muster with the AG. If it does, hopefully it can defeat the attempt by Scott Kendall and boss Walker to successfully muddy the waters. Good to see the Alaskan Republicans attempting to respond and not taking it on the chin.
Lisa is going because I’m not voting for her again. She’s done in my book. Too many opportunities she’s passed on to help our State. Gone lady, Bye Bye.
“It’s not the people who vote that count, it’s the people who count the votes.” Joseph Stalin.
We voted Lisa out once but she is still in office. Thanks to Ballot Measure 2 she will likely remain no matter how few votes she gets.
If voters are stupid enough to vote Walker or Constant because the put an R after their names….
Alaskans are stupider than I thought. And deserve what comes next.
Stupid or ignorant?
The sole purpose of The ADN and KTUU is to keep the lazy in a perpetual state of ignorance.
And also in a perpetual state of fear. Most notably, in regards to the Wuhan Virus and the so-called “pandemic”, which they continue to drumbeat daily.
Ballot Measure 2 was a solution looking for a problem.
It was not a solution to a problem, it was designed to break a system that was working.
It was funded by dark money, and was not designed to fix anything, but to break something, namely our elections.
We MUST work to get rid of it.
Sounds closer to a Communist’s Organization today ! Us Fascist at the top will squarish your free-speech voice , conserve values be damned! !
Ed, having standards and enforcing them has nothing to to with communism or free speech. Unlike in communist countries where you HAVE to join the one and only party, here you certainly have choices. If the republican platform agrees with your values become a member, if not there are a myriad of other options out there. Most voters in this state are either independent or non-affiliated. To clearly delineate conservative values and finally quit watering them down with pseudo Rs like Kelly Merrick is a step in the right direction for me.
So bend down & lick the hand of the “Alaska Attorney General ” and ask the state to review and enforce it Party rules changes … What so you Rino’s , oh no , that’s what you want …. Lame .
The former big tent party is now downsized to a pup tent
Forced by the corrupt and corrupting Ballot Measure 2, Frank, which you wholeheartedly supported and support.
.
Hypocrisy, thy name is radical leftist extremist.
Frank, is it not the prerogative of the party to insist that its members be “participatory.” The chairman of the membership committee will have the “responsibility” of ensuring that all Alaskan Republicans are inbred and “propagated” in a tightly packed, party, pup tent!
Correction:
Frank, is it not the prerogative of the party to insist that its members be “participatory?” The chairman of the membership committee will have the “responsibility” of ensuring that all Alaskan Republicans are inbred and “propagated” in a tightly packed, party, pup tent!
Suzanne got it completely correct. Prop 2 was designed for the single purpose of eliminating a closed Republican Primary. Scott Kendall’s dirty work, with Bill Walker and Lisa Murkowski cheering him on, because neither could win a closed primary. When Prop 2 was being promoted by signatures for an opportunity to get on the ballot, it was painfully obvious what was going on. Out of work union members posted themselves at grocery story entrances begging for signatures. All part of the Democrats operations. Republicans should have had a counter-signature drive going on at the same time. Republicans got caught with their pants down. And now they have to go to Court and argue the unconstitutionality of RCV, or, start a new Proposition to get it removed by the voters.
“Henceforth, a member in the Republican Party means the candidate has applied to the newly created membership committee, made up of party leaders, who have the authority to approve or disapprove membership.”
So if I want to run for office, I will first have to be “judged” by the Central Committee as to my republicanism? That sounds like a load of sycophantic manure Putin might promote. The Alaska Republican Party will continue to lose members and influence as it shrinks its tent down to a few, hard-right wing, zealots. I have been a card-carrying, party donating, convention attending, former delegate, and loyal Republican since the ’70s. You clowns just lost me, call me when you come back to planet earth.
Neptune I 100% agree with you. Been a Republican my entire life, but I have no interest in supporting this new extremist ReTrumplican party(MGT, Boebert, Gaetz, Allard, Cawthorn, and the handful of others that think they’re what a Republican is supposed to be.)
To say that a small group of “party leaders” gets to decide who is a Republican is no different than getting the blessing of a “supreme leader.” All you ReTrumplicans who like to call everyone else communists are closer to it than you think. “Yes Supreme Leader, I will agree with you on every issue and will seek your blessing before I make any decisions if I am elected.” I wasn’t a fan of Prop 2 until I read this garbage. If you have to be in Your ReTrumplican cult to be a Republican, then I hope Prop 2 is here to stay.
Will this have any effect on Murky as she has the backing of the National GOP?
Where exactly does the state law say “membership”? I can’t find it. All I can find is “political affiliation,” which the party can’t control
Unless and until there is a new Trump type 3 rd party, there is no hope for the country to retain Americanism.
Read V.D. Hansons new book “The Dying Citizen”.
Such a simple work around. I wonder why the party luminaries didn’t think of it in time to keep Murkowski from calling herself a Republican?
Comments are closed.