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veterans, will be required to register with a political party to vote in a primary election if the jungle primary is repealed through new Ballot Measure 2 in Alaska’s November 2024 election.”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).
“Conclusion The 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.
Yeah been seeing them all over youtube and can’t call out the lies. I keep getting banned.
But, it is an election year.
Some people think I am hyperbolic when I say that Democrats are psychopathic liars.
But have they even heard the ads for “No on 2”, or seen and heard the ads for Mary Peltola??
They aren’t even shading the truth, they are outright, bald faced, psychopathic lies.
They are lies so outrageous, that they are what Jordan Peterson calls “anti-truths”.
Mary has learned to just plain lie from the best.
Joe and Kamala adopted lying as a standard go to tool when being questioned about anything that is disastrous.
Amazingly enough it is working for many Democrats.
Interesting. Several women’s clubs have drafted a similar letter. Perhaps more letters will get their attention.
It appears that if a military member in Alaska wants to vote in the Dem primary they may need to register.. each party gets to make their own rules. The Republicans clearly state they allow both registered Republicans as well as non committed or independent voters. But to claim that repealing the insane Ranked Choice Voting is the reason is a pure lie.
Of course the No on 2 crowd tries to point out in every ad that they are doing this to “keep dark outside money from influencing our elections”… then read the fine print on the ad. All their financing comes from outside!
The left does not care about lying, as everything out of their mouths is a lie.
Maybe they should try “you will fall off the edge of the Earth if you vote yes”
Or how about “the sky will definitely fall on you or you will be struck by lightning?”
There’s a couple classics that should get the attention of at least the majority of the Anchorage Assembly.