About a month ago, State Representative Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak) signed a consent decree on July 28 admitting she had committed various APOC violations, including failure to disclose campaign donors accurately in 2022. Signing the consent decree lowered Stutes’ civil penalty from $264,000 to $2,643.50 plus repaying $13,869 of improperly used campaign funds. Now, Stutes has filed her amended disclosures, revealing the names of the contributors unlawfully hidden from public view four years ago.
In Stutes’ 30-day report filed in October 2022, she reported two contributions by Democracy Engine LLC. She attributed three more donations to Democracy Engine LLC in her 7-day report. Stutes identified Democracy Engine LLC as a political action committee (PAC), but it is not. Democracy Engine is an online payment processing service specifically designed for people contributing to political candidates and campaigns. APOC determined Stutes failed to properly disclose contributors and required her to amend her statements with the information of the contributors who routed their donations through Democracy Engine.
In 2022, Stutes reported receiving the following donations from Democracy Engine LLC: $82.60 on October 3, $1,162.60 on October 6, $1,248.85 on October 9, $1,162.60 on October 12, $902.92 on October 20.
Original 2022 reports: Stutes 30-Day Report, Stutes 7-Day Report
Stutes’ amended reports filed in 2026 tell a completely different story with dates, amounts, and contributor information all differing from the original 2022 reports. Not only do the amended reports reveal the individuals who made the contributions, but also indicates Stutes underreported each contribution when she filed in 2022. Here is the new information included in the amended reports following APOC’s ruling against Stutes and her signing of the consent decree:
| Date | Amount | Donor | Employment | State |
| 9/19 | $86.96 | John E. Palmer | Private Equity at Hanover Partners | CA |
| 9/22 | $1,287.50 | Jason Carroll | Finance Executive at Hudson River Trading | NY |
| 9/28 | $1,287.50 | Marc Merrill | President of Riot Games, Inc. | CA |
| 10/07 | $1,287.50 | John Lundgren | Retired | FL |
| 10/8 | $1,000 | Daniel Fisher | Not employed | NY |
Amended 2022 reports (2026): Stutes 30-Day Report (Amended), Stutes 7-Day Report (Amended)
Louise Stutes is currently running for Alaska State Senate District C to replace retiring Senate President Gary Stevens. Heath Smith and Carrie Harris, both registered Republican, are also running.
Must Read Alaska Senior Contributor Greg Sarber covered the development of this story in detail:
