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Federal government may seek removal of individual Alaskans from state voter rolls

Reject stickers await ballot envelopes Wednesday, June 15, 2022 at the Division 1 office of the Alaska Division of Elections in Juneau, Alaska during counting for Alaska's special U.S. House primary election. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

Reject stickers await ballot envelopes Wednesday, June 15, 2022 at the Division 1 office of the Alaska Division of Elections in Juneau, Alaska during counting for Alaska’s special U.S. House primary election. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)


When the state of Alaska turned over a copy of the state’s voter rolls to the Department of Justice in December, it also signed an agreement that allows the DOJ to ask the state to put individual Alaskans on track for removal from the state’s voter list.

Officially labeled a “confidential memorandum of understanding,” the document was signed Dec. 19 by Carol Beecher, director of the Alaska Division of Elections, and U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon.

Alaska is one of at least a dozen states that have signed similar documents, even as more states continue to fight the requests in court. 

In part, the document says “the Justice Department will securely notify you or your state of any voter list maintenance issues … i.e., that your state’s (list) only includes eligible voters.”

It goes on to state “that within forty-five (45) days of receiving that notice from the Justice Department of any issues … your state will clean its (list) by removing ineligible voters and resubmit the updated (list) to the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department” to confirm that the state is following federal law.

Alaska’s signed agreement was obtained by the Alaska Beacon on Tuesday via a public records request.

Beecher and Kelly Howell, chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, said the agreement does not allow DOJ to purge voters — a term that means removing them from the voter roll altogether.

Instead, the DOJ’s picks, if any, would be placed on the state’s inactive voter list. Anyone on that list must provide ID and have their identity verified if they wish to vote.

People on the inactive list are also placed on the state’s path to removal, a process that takes four years according to a timeline set by federal and state law. 

The agreement says in part that it was “entered into at your state’s request,” but by email, Dahlstrom’s office said that isn’t correct and that the Department of Justice provided the agreement.

The lieutenant governor is in charge of Alaska’s elections, and in a cover letter dated Dec. 19, she said the memo was “entered at the request of the Department of Justice” and state law.

That law, Dahlstrom said, “allows the Division of Elections to share voters’ confidential information with a federal government agency, such as the Department of Justice, provided it uses ‘the information only for governmental purposes authorized under law.’”

If the Department of Justice were to seek faster removal of Alaskans from the voter rolls, it could violate that clause.

Responding to questions from the Beacon, the lieutenant governor’s chief of staff said the state has not received any notices from the Justice Department about problems with its voter list, that no “ineligible voters” have been removed and that the state isn’t aware of any times when Alaska’s rolls were used for “pre-litigation or litigation purposes,” as defined in the agreement.

Concerns about states’ rights being overridden

The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the right of states to set the rules for local and state elections; changing voter rolls would represent a new expansion of powers by the Department of Justice.

Former Democratic state Sen. Tom Begich, posting about the issue on social media, said he is “outraged” by the agreement between the state and the federal government.

“That kind of federal interference threatens our constitutional right to run our own elections,” he said.

He later issued a statement calling on the Alaska Legislature to investigate the issue.

Dahlstrom, a Republican, is also a candidate for governor.

Writing in an opinion column published by the Juneau Independent on Friday, former Alaska Attorney General Bruce Botelho, a Democrat, said “it is alarming that the federal government has demanded” the copy of the voter roll with personally identifying information.

Nationally, at least 11 other states have signed agreements similar to the one signed by Alaska, according to federal court testimony in December over a lawsuit that challenged the state of California’s refusal to turn over its voter rolls to the federal government.

The text of Alaska’s agreement is almost identical to ones previously disclosed in court and by the American Civil Liberties Union in a lawsuit by the federal government against the state of Colorado.

“We will not comply with the Trump Department of Justice’s request for Coloradans’ sensitive voting information,” said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, in December. “The DOJ can take a hike; it does not have a legal right to the information. Colorado will not help Donald Trump undermine our elections and hurt the American people.”

Nationally, the federal government has sued more than two dozen states, including Colorado, that refused to send voter rolls to the federal government.

Those states generally have provided copies of publicly available rolls, but the federal government is seeking more detailed information, including lists of personally identifying information that may include birth dates, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers in part or whole.

“The manner in which the Department of Justice has acted makes clear that what is at stake is not voter integrity, but voter privacy,” Botelho said.

The Justice Department has said that its requests are necessary to make sure that states are following federal laws that require them to regularly maintain their lists and keep noncitizens from voting.

The Department of Justice has been sharing the voter rolls with the Department of Homeland Security, searching for noncitizens.

As of this week, federal judges had ruled against the Department of Justice in lawsuits covering Oregon, California and Michigan. The department has not prevailed in any case so far.

In the Oregon ruling, published on Feb. 5, Judge Mustafa Kashubhai wrote that the federal government cannot be trusted about its true motives.

“When Plaintiff, in this case, conveys assurances that any private and sensitive data will remain private and used only for a declared and limited purpose, it must be thoroughly scrutinized and squared with its open and public statements to the contrary,” he wrote.

Alaska-specific implications may be broad

The national ACLU has opposed the federal government’s requests in general. When contacted Friday about the Alaska memo, the Alaska chapter of the organization said it did not have immediate comment and was still researching the issue.

The agreement between the state of Alaska and the Department of Justice could have broad consequences here. 

Days before signing the agreement, the Alaska Division of Elections disclosed that dozens of noncitizens had accidentally been registered to vote by the Alaska Department of Motor Vehicles.

Under guidelines imposed by the Trump administration, those noncitizens could be deported, because federal law strictly prohibits noncitizens from registering to vote, and appearing on a voter list prompts special review when someone is attempting to become a citizen.

The state has also criminally charged 11 American Samoa-born Alaska residents for voting in state elections. People born in American Samoa are American nationals, but not citizens, and thus are ineligible to vote.

When the Alaska Beacon reviewed Division of Elections files that were turned over to the Department of Justice last year, it found 70 people labeled as noncitizens who either voted or attempted to vote in the state between 2015 and 2025.

Those people were on the state’s inactive voter list, which was not provided to the Department of Justice.

In addition, the violent federal crackdown against noncitizens in Minnesota and other states has ensnared many American citizens, indicating that the federal action is resulting in many false positives or is targeting Americans regardless of citizenship. 

Correction: The initial version of this article incorrectly stated that the memo would allow the Department of Justice to direct the purge of individual voters. It only permits DOJ to identify Alaskans for eventual removal and does not immediately prevent them from voting.

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Procedural objections almost stop Alaska Legislature from extending disaster declaration

The Alaska State Capitol is seen behind other buildings on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in downtown Juneau. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

The Alaska State Capitol is seen behind other buildings on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in downtown Juneau. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)

The Alaska Legislature on Wednesday approved a 30-day extension for the state of disaster covering the fall 2025 storms that battered the state’s west coast.

The extension allows the state to continue spending money from its disaster response fund as it continues cleanup and repair efforts from two storms in October. Hundreds of Alaskans were displaced by the disasters, which devastated coastal communities.

The Alaska Senate approved the extension in a 19-0 vote on Monday, but the extension nearly failed in the Alaska House after members of the House’s Republican minority caucus raised procedural issues on Wednesday and said members of the majority were not following state law.

The extension was included in Senate Concurrent Resolution 12, which retroactively approves extensions issued since October and allows the governor to spend more from the state’s disaster response fund. 

“Doing this as a resolution is dangerous, I think it’s a mistake, and I’m not even certain that it’s legal,” said House Minority Leader DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer. 

Johnson and other Republicans said that under their interpretation of state law, legislators would need to approve the spending via a bill, not a resolution.

A legislative attorney, writing in a Feb. 2 memo to Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, said, “when the legislature means to take action having a binding effect on those outside the legislature, including extending a disaster declaration, the legislature must enact a bill in a special or regular session rather than using the less formal resolution process.”

Johnson was rebutted by House Rules Chair Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak and a member of the House’s majority coalition.

“This is not new money,” she said. “This is money that has been (in the fund) and is being allowed to be appropriated out. … it’s been agreed upon that maybe this wasn’t the optimum way. Nothing’s perfect. We’re moving forward. We are trying to do the best we can as quickly as we can. Time is of the essence, so I ask you to ask yourself: Do you want to be right in how it is done, or do you want to do the right thing when there’s a question?”

The House vote was 22-18, with Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, joining the 21 members of the House’s coalition majority in support. All other members of the House Republican minority voted against the resolution.

As debate opened, Rep. Nellie Unangiq Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay, became choked up as she described the disaster, which devastated her district and resulted in the largest peacetime evacuation in state history.

“Today, months later, 340 of our neighbors remain without permanent houses. Mr. Speaker, we are Yup’ik. Our people have lived in this delta for thousands of years. We know storms. We know water. We know loss,” she said. “We have lived on this coast for thousands of years, and we’ve survived ice ages, epidemics, colonization. We’ve survived by adapting, sharing, by refusing to abandon our homes, but you can’t really live when your home floats 10 miles out to sea, when your fuel tanks that heat your home in winter are submerged in salt water.”

On Jan. 28, Gov. Mike Dunleavy requested permission to spend $20.5 million from the disaster response fund, up $5.5 million from a prior request.

When federal money is added to that tally, the total amount is $39.25 million.

More spending is expected. 

Last week, the director of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has estimated at least $125 million in state and federal costs related to the storm disaster.

“The declaration allows state agencies to continue their emergency response and to extend state funds as needed,” said Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage and co-chair of the House Finance Committee.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, took issue with the fact that after Dunleavy declared a state of disaster in October, the Speaker of the House and Senate President approved subsequent 30-day extensions without consulting legislators.

“I think we should have called ourselves in (to special session), or the third floor should have called us in (to special session) to take up this very important issue,” Ruffridge said.

“What precedent does this set for the presiding officers to make the decisions before us on our behalf?” he asked. “What power do we give the executive by allowing disaster declarations to continue without (the House) or the (Senate) taking up that order of business?”

Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, said he worries that failing to follow proper procedure could leave disaster relief vulnerable to legal challenge.

“We put the reliability of that relief at question if this is not done right,” he said. 

The day after the vote, Ruffridge said members of the minority have drafted a bill that would fix the problems they see, and that bill is being reviewed by legislative attorneys.

House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, said legislative attorneys have reviewed the majority’s plan.

“We have had our legal department tell us that this passes muster,” he said during the debate.

After the vote, Kopp’s office was unable to provide a legal memo to that effect but said he had received verbal advice.

Josephson, wrapping up debate, said the majority was working in good faith with Dunleavy to get the money out the door quickly.

“Given the urgency of the matter, we’re trying to cooperate with the executive branch,” he said.

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Alaska legislators say governor’s fiscal plan is likely dead after first week of hearings

Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, leaves the House chambers before the start of a special legislative session on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

 Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, leaves the House chambers before the start of a special legislative session on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, leaves the House chambers before the start of a special legislative session on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Leading members of the Alaska House of Representatives said Friday that Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s ambitious long-term state fiscal plan has almost no support among legislators and is almost certainly dead on arrival.

House leaders spoke with reporters Friday morning, a day after members of the House Finance Committee heard two hours of public testimony on the governor’s proposed statewide sales tax, the cornerstone of his multi-part proposal to bring state expenses and revenue into line over the next five years.

Every Alaskan who testified — almost 30 in total — was against the tax. 

“This is just pure speculation on my part, but what you hear folks in the hall say is, if there’s a vote today on the sales tax, it could be a zero to 60 vote,” said Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome and co-chair of the House Finance Committee.

House Minority Leader DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, said there might be a handful of legislators who would still support the governor’s plan, but it’s pretty clear that it lacks the support it needs to become law.

“From the testimony that was taken last night in House Finance — when everyone who called in spoke in opposition — it certainly makes it hard to think there’s a lot of people that aren’t very cautious about saying they’re for the governor’s plan,” she said.

The governor’s plan calls for a seasonal statewide sales tax, changes to the state’s oil and corporate taxes, a constitutionally guaranteed Permanent Fund dividend formula, changes to the structure of the Alaska Permanent Fund and a tighter spending cap in state law. 

Those changes are being proposed because oil and investment revenue can’t keep up with demand for services and dividends, and lawmakers are unwilling to cut services any more than they already have.

Since 2015, legislators and governors have cut state agencies’ budgets by 16.6%, after accounting for inflation. The state’s capital budget, which pays for new construction and maintenance, has been cut by more than 80%. 

Every year since 2016, the Permanent Fund dividend has been cut below the amount called for in state law.

With so much deferred maintenance, public schools — particularly in rural Alaska — are decaying and literally collapsing. The state is now facing a lawsuit alleging that school funding is so low that it violates the Alaska Constitution.

Dunleavy’s proposal would be a way to stanch the fiscal bleeding. The new taxes are intended to be temporary because the Dunleavy administration expects North Slope oil production to rise, boosting state revenue, and it expects that a proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline will be built and generate more money for the state.

Even before this week’s presentations and public testimony, many legislators were skeptical of the plan, and saw the new taxes as merely a way to pay a larger Permanent Fund dividend.

“I’m a logic person,” said Senate Minority Leader Mike Cronk, R-Tok, on Jan. 28, one day after the governor debuted his plan.“We’re going to tax those people that are productive so everybody gets a check? That don’t work for me. … That’s just not logical to me,” he said.

Lawmakers analyzed the sales tax first, in a series of hearings this week, but because it received such a negative reaction in public testimony, legislators are now wondering if it’s worth considering any other part of the governor’s fiscal plan, given that they are all viewed as one package.

Foster said it doesn’t look like the governor’s proposal could be amended and improved enough to get sufficient support in the Capitol.

“Sometimes, you could say, ‘We’re kind of close on things, and there’s a lot of great areas that we can work on,’ but this one just seems to be — folks are just really, really unhappy,” he said.

There are costs to inaction as well. The Institute of Social and Economic Research recently estimated that the state has missed out on 2-3% of its gross domestic product over the past 10 years because of the lack of a fiscal plan. Without a long-term structure, legislators have gotten dragged into annual debates over the size of the Permanent Fund dividend, which has prevented them from discussing other pressing issues.

Some lawmakers have concerns beyond the sales tax. Johnson thinks the governor’s proposal for a revised fiscal cap is inadequate. Because it would be in state law, rather than in the constitution, future legislators could ignore it just as they do the current Permanent Fund dividend formula.

That’s why she calls it a “spending beanie,” instead of a spending cap.

“I personally think it’s rather small, and it would be easily overcome,” she said. “And for that reason, I think of it as a spending beanie.”

Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, said he’s skeptical of this proposal’s chances after years of other attempts to enact a fiscal plan.

“I won’t regale you with tales from years past, but on the Finance Committee, we have spent weeks and weeks going through a lot of this stuff, and it never got a compromise when it came to the floor. So that’s the issue at hand here,” he said.

Rep. Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage and another Finance co-chair, said that after hearing Thursday’s public testimony, he’s not sure the governor’s proposal can be successful either. “There is so much education that still needs to take place and studying that needs to be done for us to be able to move it forward in a way that would get broad support,” he said.

“I think folks are just kind of waiting until next year before we, you know, really take a serious stab at some of those things, like the income tax,” Foster said.

“I have higher hopes for next year than I do this year. You know, a new executive leadership branch and the leadership there,” he said.

Later in the day, in a one-on-one interview with the Alaska Beacon, Dunleavy said lawmakers are going to be disappointed if they think that negotiating with a new governor will be any easier.

Dunleavy is term-limited and leaves office in December.

“A governor who goes in there and puts out a plan like this in their first or second year, they’re going to get the same thing we’re getting now,” Dunleavy said. “And that doesn’t work.”

When an Alaskan flies to Seattle and looks out the airplane window, they’ll see construction cranes dotting the skyline, Dunleavy said.

“Washington is a state that does not have an income tax. It’s a sales tax. Washington’s economy is actually pretty good,” he said.

He referred to a fiscal analysis performed by the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage, which found that a seasonal sales tax with large exemptions would fall more on nonresidents than an income tax would.

“The sales tax is the best thing we could come up with,” he said, referring to that analysis.

Reducing the PFD to balance the budget — the Legislature’s preferred policy since 2016 — is the most regressive option, harming poor Alaskans more than rich ones, ISER found.

“Taking the PFD is the worst thing you can do for the average person,” Dunleavy said.

He appeared frustrated by legislators’ actions and the lack of an alternative plan coming from the House or Senate.

“I’ve never seen a fiscal plan introduced,” Dunleavy said. “The closest I’ve ever seen was the first fiscal working group just a couple years ago.”

In 2017, the Alaska House of Representatives approved a state income tax as part of a three-part fiscal plan, but it did not become law. 

The state Senate, including Dunleavy, voted down the income tax, killing the House’s plan. 

“A tax is not a fiscal plan,” Dunleavy said when asked about that history.

He said that with 120 days in the legislative session, lawmakers have time to work on the issue and figure things out. 

“Here you go: My last year, there’s no political skin in the game. I’m not going to lose anything because I’m not running for anything. And here’s an opportunity for these guys, and out of the gate, they said, ‘There’s not enough time.’ So if there’s not enough time for this,” Dunleavy said, “What are they spending their time on?”

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Lawmakers say, Permanent fund dividend unlikely to rise under current budget

NOTN- Despite a proposal from Governor Mike Dunleavy calling for a $3,600 permanent fund dividend, Alaska lawmakers say the numbers do not support an increase without new revenue.

State Senator Jesse Kiehl said the governor’s dividend proposal is not mathematically feasible under the current budget framework.

“The math just can’t work. There’s no way.” He said, “So one of the questions is going to be whether we can do any new revenues this year just to stabilize the PFD. I cannot see it going up.”

Without additional revenue, lawmakers are weighing whether to maintain a dividend similar to last year’s payment of about $1,000 or reduce it to a range closer to $600.

The final dividend amount is likely to remain unresolved until late in the legislative session, potentially stretching into mid-May, as lawmakers balance competing priorities for state spending.

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New lawsuit claims Alaska’s description of a proposed elections ballot measure is biased

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

A summary sheet is seen during ballot review on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at the headquarters of the Alaska Division of Elections in Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Supporters of Alaska’s election system filed a lawsuit against the Alaska Division of Elections on Thursday, alleging that the state’s description of a roll-back-the-clock ballot measure is biased and inaccurate. 

The state has defended its language, with a spokesperson calling it “accurate, neutral, and consistent with prior initiatives.”

This fall, voters will be asked with Ballot Measure 2 if they want to return Alaska’s election system to what it was in 2020. The state’s description would be printed on ballots alongside the measure. 

Until 2020, political parties determined who could vote and run in primary elections, voters were required to pick just one candidate in the general election, and people could donate secretly to nonprofits that could then pass money to candidates.

In November 2020, Alaskans approved Ballot Measure 2, which put all political candidates for an office into the same primary election. The top four advance to a general election that uses ranked choice voting. Nonprofits that donate to political candidates are required to disclose their donors.

In 2024, an effort to repeal the primary and general election changes failed by 737 votes out of 320,985 cast statewide.

The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit are AFL-CIO president Joelle Hall, state Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, and former Juneau city council member Barbara Blake. All three are represented by attorney Scott Kendall, the prime author of the 2020 ballot measure that installed the current elections system.

The suit was organized by the Alaskans for Better Elections Foundation, Kendall said. Alaskans for Better Elections supported the 2020 measure and has opposed prior efforts to repeal it. 

“I think (Alaskans) should know that the ballot language that has been offered by the Division of Directions is materially inaccurate, and in some cases, says the measure does the opposite of what it does, and it omits very significant changes the measure will make,” Kendall said by phone on Thursday.

In particular, the suit objects to the state’s claim that the ballot measure would restore or “bring back” campaign finance rules.

“The proposed measure (24ESEG) would not ‘restore,’ ‘bring back,’ or add even a single

campaign finance rule to Alaska’s statutes,” the suit states. “Rather, 24ESEG would fully repeal a litany of campaign finance disclosure requirements, and eliminate enhanced fines.”

A key part of the 2020 ballot measure and existing state law is the requirement that nonprofit groups disclose their financial supporters if those nonprofits contribute money to election candidates. 

A prior effort to repeal the 2020 ballot measure would have left the disclosure requirement in place. The new repeal effort would eliminate the dark-money disclosure law, concealing donations.

A section-by-section analysis published by the Alaska Department of Law in February 2025 concluded that this year’s measure would “reverse several changes to campaign finance disclosure requirements.”

“It repeals a ton of very, very popular campaign finance disclosure provisions, and yet, the ballot language proposes to say it restores them,” Kendall said.

The lawsuit also asserts that the state’s approved language downplays the way that political parties would be permitted to determine who may vote in primary elections.

Independent candidates would not appear on primary election ballots unless one or more political parties allow them. Independent voters would not be allowed to vote in a primary unless permitted by political parties.

Before 2020, both the Republican and Democratic parties in Alaska allowed some independent voters to participate in their primaries.

“Granting major political parties in Alaska the power to disenfranchise voters for primary elections is neither mentioned, nor even implied, in the proposed ballot language,” the lawsuit states. 

The Alaska Division of Elections is being legally defended by the Alaska Department of Law, which has not been formally served with the lawsuit but has a copy of the complaint. 

“We have been in the midst of ongoing discussions with plaintiffs’ counsel, who was urging the adoption of ballot language that would have departed from the legal standard requiring accuracy and neutrality,” said Sam Curtis, a spokesperson for the Department of Law. 

“We have not yet been served with the complaint and will review it when we are. The ballot language at issue is accurate, neutral, and consistent with prior initiatives. The alternative language advanced by the plaintiffs would be confusing and inject advocacy where the law requires impartial description. We are confident the courts will uphold the State’s language.”

The plaintiffs challenging the state have diverse political perspectives: Hall is a registered Democrat, Giessel is a Republican, and Blake is a registered nonpartisan. All three have opposed prior repeal efforts and are opposing this year’s as well.

Giessel said she wants Alaskans to know what they’re voting on.

“People tell me that they’ve signed initiatives, particularly this year — and other years previously as well — and then they find out that actually what they were told they were signing was misrepresented to them. So I want them to know exactly what’s in this,” she said.

Hall is an experienced campaigner.

“People need to know what they’re being asked to vote on, as clear as possible. Because some people will walk into that booth and read that word for word,” she said. “They will not have made up their mind ahead of time. So it just needs to be really clear.”

What do you think?

Below are the two versions of the proposed language on Ballot Measure 2. Which do you think is clearer and more accurate?

First, the state-written language:

An Act Restoring Political Party Primaries, Single-Choice General Elections, and Campaign Finance Rules

This act would get rid of open primary elections and ranked-choice general elections. It would bring back political party primaries and single-choice general elections. It would also bring back campaign finance rules.

Elections will occur as they did before open primaries and ranked choice voting. In the primary election, voters will choose a party’s ballot. They will vote for one candidate in each race and the winning candidate will be the party’s nominee. In the general election, voters will select one candidate in each race. The candidate with the most votes will win. Party petitions, special runoff elections, and other parts of the prior election system would return.

Campaign finance rules would also return to the way they were in the prior election system. This act would remove the limits on donations to joint campaigns for governor and lieutenant governor. It would remove limits and disclosure rules under current law, including for digital ads, out-of-state donations, undisclosed donations, and the true source of donations. It would remove some fines and change the meaning of a campaign expenditure.

Second, the language proposed in the lawsuit:

An Act Restoring Political Party Primaries and Single-Choice General Elections, and Repealing Certain Campaign Disclosure Requirements and Fines

This Act would get rid of open primary elections, where all candidates appear on one ballot. It would get rid of ranked-choice general elections. It would replace them with political party primaries and single-choice general elections. This Act would also repeal certain campaign finance disclosure requirements and get rid of or reduce some fines for violations.

In the primary election, voters would choose one party’s ballot and vote only for candidates from that party. Political parties would be given the power to prohibit voters who are not registered members of their party, including Nonpartisan and Undeclared voters, from voting in their primaries. The winning candidate from each primary would be the party’s nominee. In the General Election, voters would vote for only one candidate. The candidate receiving the most votes would win, whether or not that candidate has a majority of the votes cast for the race.

This Act would end the ban on dark money by getting rid of the requirement that independent expenditure groups report the true sources of their contributions. It would also get rid of the requirement that such groups, when they are funded mostly by out of state money, disclose that fact in their ads.

Finally, it would get rid of or reduce the fines for some campaign finance violations.

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Mary Peltola holding a meet and greet tonight at the Crystal Saloon

NOTN- Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola has launched a campaign to serve as Alaska’s next U.S. senator, and now she will be making a stop in Juneau this evening for a Meet and Greet at the Crystal Saloon.

Peltola announced her candidacy Jan. 12, saying Washington politicians are increasingly driven by special interests and national politics at the expense of Alaskans. She said her campaign will focus on affordability, infrastructure, fisheries and protecting Alaska’s way of life.

According to her campaign website, Peltola is holding a public meet-and-greet later tonight, meant to give supporters and undecided voters a chance to speak with her directly about her Senate run.

Peltola is a lifelong Alaskan who grew up along the Kuskokwim River, noting on her website, “I’m running for Senate because I’ve lived firsthand how government is failing Alaskans.”

She is a former member of the Alaska State Legislature and previously served in Congress, where she built a reputation for working with both Democrats and Republicans.

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Alaska’s Rep. Nick Begich votes against 3-year extension of federal health care subsidies

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, speaks during the commissioning ceremony for the Coast Guard icebreaker Storis on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 230-196 on Thursday to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years and reverse massive cost increases that went into effect with the new year.

The reversal must still be approved by the U.S. Senate and President Donald Trump before becoming effective.

Alaska’s lone member of the House, Republican Rep. Nick Begich III, voted against the extension, as did 195 other Republicans.

Seventeen Republicans voted for the extension of subsidies that were enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, joining all of the chamber’s Democrats. 

The House’s Republican leaders opposed the extension, but a handful of Republicans signed a petition in December to force a vote.

Begich did not sign that petition, and on Wednesday, he joined other Republicans in an unsuccessful procedural vote intended to block Thursday’s decision.

In a written statement explaining his vote on Thursday, Begich said extending subsidies would not fix the problems he sees with the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.  “The health insurance system created by Democrats under Obamacare has proven completely unaffordable for the American healthcare customer,” the statement said. “An extension of Obamacare COVID subsidies does not fix what is broken.”

He said he would like to see reforms to the Affordable Care Act, without which he said the extension “has no credible pathway forward in the Senate.”

In December, Begich voted in favor of a Republican-proposed alternative to the extension. That alternative, which focuses on drug costs, would not stop or reverse the new cost increases and has thus far been rejected by the Senate. 

The Congressional Budget Office reported that the alternative would reduce health insurance premiums for insured Americans but would also reduce the number of Americans who are insured. 

“I remain committed to working on reforms that lower costs, expand access, and improve outcomes for all Americans,” Begich said in his statement. “Temporary extensions without meaningful reform are not the solution. Real reform that puts patients first is.”

In December, Alaska’s two U.S. Senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan — both Republicans — joined Senate Democrats in an unsuccessful attempt to advance a condition-free extension similar to the one passed by the House on Thursday.

That was a change in position for Sullivan, who had previously opposed extensions that were not coupled with changes to the Affordable Care Act.

Begich and Sullivan are each up for election this fall. Sullivan does not have a Democratic Party-backed opponent yet, but former U.S. House Rep. Mary Peltola is widely expected to enter the race this month.

Begich is being opposed by Anchorage pastor Matt Schultz. Alaska Democratic Party Chair Eric Croft said by email that Thursday’s vote will be a campaign issue in the fall.

“After allowing lifesaving ACA tax credits to expire on December 31, Nick Begich doubled down on his betrayal of Alaska families and blocked the extension of these credits,” he wrote. “We cannot afford these health care price hikes, and we won’t forget about Nick Begich’s betrayal this November.”

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Eaglecrest updates operations; snow challenges, leadership changes and deepening deficits

Photo courtesy of Eaglecrest Ski Area

NOTN-Eaglecrest Ski Area officials say the resort continues to operate even with the extreme winter weather, closures, infrastructure problems and leadership turnover.

One of the most significant operational challenges for Eaglecrest has been a major water system failure beneath Fish Creek Lodge. Officials said the break was caused by aging infrastructure, not freezing, but repairs were complicated when a separate heating-system water line was damaged during initial work.

Contractors are now scheduled to install a supplemental water line, with hopes of restoring service next week. Water testing will be required before potable use can resume.

Mountain operations crews are continuing grooming and trail preparation as the snowfall allows, though mechanical issues with snowcats have slowed the progress.

Contractors are on site assisting with repairs. Plans are also being developed for snowmaking improvements and the possible return of night skiing.

According to the managers report released after the meeting last night, Eaglecrest has seen access improvements. For the 2025-26 season, the City and Borough of Juneau assumed responsibility for maintaining Fish Creek Road.

City crews are currently widening the road to improve traffic flow to the ski area.

Despite the continuous operational hurdles, the report discussed strong participation in snowsports programs. The ski area hosted three holiday camps with 125 students and launched its first multi-week programs in early January.

Thursdays meetings also brought notable leadership changes.

First reported by the Juneau Independent, General Manager Craig Cimmons resigned, after taking up the position on September 30 of 2024.

Board chair Hannah Shively stepped down for health reasons. Erin Lupro, a longtime employee and former acting general manager, was appointed interim general manager, with Cimmons assisting in the transition for up to 30 days.

Eaglecrest has faced financial strain as well, including a reported 40% drop in season pass sales and major projected deficits in the years leading up to the proposed gondola project.

On January 5, a report was presented during a Special Finance Committee Planning Meeting that shows Eaglecrest is facing mounting budget deficits.

Eaglecrest entered the current fiscal year with a budget deficit of $691,600, with the lowest previous fund balance in fiscal year 2006.

Under the current projections, the report estimates the fund balance could reach between negative $2.5 million and negative $3.0 million at the start of fiscal year 2027.

The mountain’s long-term financial planning is tied heavily to the proposed gondola project, but the first potential gondola related revenue is only expected in the final two months of fiscal year 2028.

Officials said additional updates on operations, infrastructure repairs and leadership transitions will be shared as the season continues.

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National Native helpline for domestic violence and sexual assault to open Alaska-specific service

By: Claire Stremple, Alaska Beacon

The tundra surrounding Bethel, Alaska turns red and gold in the fall. October 10, 2023. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

A national support line for Native survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault has begun work to launch an Alaska-specific service. 

Strong Hearts Native Helpline is a Native-led nonprofit that offers 24-hour, seven-day-a-week support for anonymous and confidential calls from people who have experienced domestic violence or sexual assault. 

The line is staffed by Native advocates, but Strong Hearts Deputy Executive Officer Rachel Carr-Shunk said there are not yet any Alaska Native people answering phone calls.

That is set to change soon.

“Even though we’re a Native organization and all of our advocates are American Indian, we do recognize that there is a difference for our Alaska Native relatives who experience violence in that context, whether they live in a rural village or they just live in Alaska, which is a different experience,” she said.

Carr-Shunk expects the organization to launch the Alaska-specific line within the next calendar year, after building partnerships in the state. 

“When Alaska Native survivors reach out, we want them to trust that they’re going to have someone who understands their experience as an Alaska Native person, or who understands that identity,” she said.

To that end, the organization has hired Anchorage-based Minnie Sneddy, who is originally from Hooper Bay. Sneddy is tasked with explaining Alaska’s regional differences and specific needs to the organization, as well as helping create a database of Alaska resources. 

Sneddy has years of experience in behavioral health work and said that her career and life experience have shown her the lack of resources for people who face domestic violence and sexual assault — and how many of those people need mental health support.

“The years I lived in Hooper Bay, and here in Anchorage and Alaska, there’s so many (people) that need help and want help, but they feel like if they do come forward and get help, they get in trouble — not only with their families, but with OCS, Office of Children’s Services,” she said. “I feel like Strong Hearts Native Helpline can help at least allow a person to be heard, because the majority of time, people want to be heard. Everyone just wants to feel seen and be heard.”

Sneddy said she is reaching out to resources that already exist in the state, and Strong Hearts is working with the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center to build out its state-specific service.

Alaska has the third-highest rate of intimate partner violence against women in the nation and men kill women in Alaska at a higher rate than anywhere else in the country. In a state where nearly half of women have experienced domestic violence in their lifetimes, Alaska Native women are particularly vulnerable.

“We don’t have a voice, really, in the villages,” Sneddy said, adding that when abuse happens: “There’s no help for an individual. And if a woman decides to do something about it, she’s seen as a bad person.”

The Strong Hearts Native Helpline is available now for Alaskans, even though there are not yet Alaska Native advocates on the other end of the line. A full list of Alaska shelters and victim’s services providers can be found in the state directory at law.alaska.gov.

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Federal government shutdown postpones Alaska’s annual population estimate

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

Audience watches a dance group perform at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in October 2018 at the Dena’ina Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo from video by Joaqlin Estus/ICT)

Alaska’s annual population estimate will be delayed almost a month due to last year’s federal government shutdown.

State demographer David Howell said on Wednesday that the state estimate isn’t expected until at least Jan. 28 due to the lack of required data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The estimate is typically published in the first full week of January by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development and reflects information as of July the previous year.

While the department uses Permanent Fund Dividend data to hone its guess, it also incorporates Census data published annually. That data, normally available by the start of the year, isn’t expected until Jan. 27, Howell said. That means the state’s estimate can’t be finalized. 

The estimate is a barometer of the state’s economic and social health: When the state’s economy is booming and the Lower 48’s economy is stagnant, in-migration surges. When the opposite is true, more people leave the state than arrive.

Last year’s estimate showed 741,147 residents, the highest population since 2017, in part due to an unexpected surge in the estimated number of people moving to Alaska from outside the United States. 

If the new estimate is on par or above last year’s figure, it could be a sign that the state’s decade-long economic malaise is ebbing. 

This year’s estimate is also expected to incorporate an increase in military residents in and near Fairbanks, which could boost the Golden Heart’s population. 

In the long run, Alaska’s population is expected to drop because a lack of new arrivals has caused the state’s average age to rise.

That leads to a drop in the number of new births and a rise in the number of elderly Alaskans. By 2050, the agency expects the state’s population to drop by about 2%.

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