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Alaska Supreme Court upholds constitutionality of campaign ad disclosure statements

Wooden gavel with books in background. Law and justice concept

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

Wooden gavel with books in background.

Alaska’s legally required campaign ad disclaimers do not violate the First Amendment, the state supreme court ruled Friday, deciding a six-year-old dispute between the Alaska Policy Forum and state campaign regulators.

Justice Dario Borghesan wrote the 61-page decision on behalf of the court, which ruled unanimously and upheld minor fines against APF that were issued by the Alaska Public Offices Commission five years ago.

At issue were a series of news releases, opinion pieces and a video embedded in the group’s website, all opposing ranked-choice voting. 

“We uphold the agency’s decision, concluding that the cited publications had to be reported and required a ‘paid for by’ disclosure,” Borghesan wrote. “We also hold that the statutory standards are not unconstitutionally vague because they give fair notice of what kind of speech must be reported and must contain a disclosure. And we conclude that the First Amendment challenges to these laws are unavailing.”

APF organized with a variety of groups across the country to produce the video embedded in its website, the opinion notes.

“APF did not just happen to find a video on the internet and share it on social media. APF engaged in discussions with organizations around the country to create a national coalition that developed or gathered content on ranked-choice voting and allowed APF to republish that content. Such efforts required significant time, and someone paid for that time. Alaskans have a genuine interest in knowing who,” the opinion states.

The case dates from 2020, when Alaskans voted to approve Ballot Measure 2.

That measure installed open primary elections, required disclosure of some political donations and installed ranked-choice voting in general elections. 

That system remains in place today but has been challenged by a new repeal initiative. A prior repeal effort failed in 2024.

In September 2020, Alaskans for Better Elections, a group that supports the current voting system, filed a complaint with the commission, stating that APF was violating state law because its statements on ranked-choice voting did not list their three top contributors, something required for campaign communications.

APF contended that its statements were about ranked-choice voting in general, not about Ballot Measure 2 in particular, because they didn’t specifically name the Alaska measure.

APOC commissioners disagreed and cited APF, requiring it to file disclosure forms but waiving fines. APF appealed to Superior Court Judge Frank Pfiffner, who ruled in the commission’s favor, finding that the commission “reasonably concluded that APF’s activities amounted to an express communication that was an exhortation to vote against (Ballot Measure 2).”

Pfiffner rejected technical arguments against the commission’s actions, the argument that state laws were improperly vague, the idea that the First Amendment gave APF a right to publish its material without a disclosure, and APF’s challenge to a state law that requires political groups to disclose contributions starting with the “first dollar” they spend.

Individuals are not subject to the same disclosure requirement. 

APF appealed to the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in September 2023 and ruled more than two years later.

In Friday’s order, Borghesan repeatedly refers to past rulings by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which holds jurisdiction over Alaska. 

Relying on that precedent, the court concluded that given the context and language of APF’s communications, there was no other way to view them than as urging a particular vote in the 2020 campaign.

“In the context of an upcoming election in which ranked-choice voting is on the ballot,” Friday’s order states, a “video’s reference to a ‘push’ by ‘interest groups’ for ranked-choice voting and its call to ‘SAY NO TO RANKED CHOICE VOTING’ is a clear, albeit indirect, reference to voting against the Initiative.”

The Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“APF is disappointed by the decision,” said attorney Stacey Stone, who represented the group in court. “The ruling allows the state to treat protected educational speech about public policy as regulated campaign activity. That approach threatens to chill core First Amendment expression. We are reviewing the opinion carefully and evaluating our options.”

Attorney Scott Kendall represented Alaskans for Better Elections.

“Alaskans for Better Elections has been focused on campaign finance transparency since its founding. This victory affirms those values,” he said, explaining that the group is “very pleased with this outcome.”

Kendall noted that Alaskans have an interest in knowing who is funding ads in their elections.

“Hopefully, the Policy Forum will now comply with the law and disclose its donors, as it should have done years ago,” he said.

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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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Alaska Senate votes to require public schools to teach CPR

Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, talks to a colleague on the floor of the Alaska Senate, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, talks to a colleague on the floor of the Alaska Senate, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska public school students would be required to learn hands-only CPR under a proposal advancing through the state legislature.

In a 19-0 vote on Wednesday, the Alaska Senate approved Senate Bill 20, which requires the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development to “adopt curricula to instruct public school students on hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation.”

Conventional CPR involves chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing, whereas hands-only CPR uses compressions alone.

Sen. Robert Yundt, R-Wasilla, was absent from the vote.

Existing state law says that each state school district is “encouraged” to teach CPR; the new bill, if approved by the House and Gov. Mike Dunleavy, would change CPR to a requirement.

The department said in a fiscal note that it will be able to implement the new requirement at no additional cost to the state.

“It’s time for Alaska to align with the growing national standard that ensures students learn these life-saving CPR techniques,” said Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage and the sponsor of the bill.

Heart diseases are the No. 2 cause of death in Alaska, according to the latest available state statistics. CPR can be used to keep someone’s blood flowing if they experience sudden cardiac arrest. That can triple a victim’s chances of survival, Gray-Jackson said, noting that CPR has even been used in the Capitol on occasion.

SB 20 advances to the House for further consideration. A companion measure, House Bill 92, is in the House Education Committee and has not yet been heard.

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Among Alaska’s 16 candidates for governor is a ‘pissed off’ single mother of five

Independent Alaska governor candidate Jessica Faircloth is seen in a photo distributed by the candidate on Feb. 5, 2026. (Handout photo)

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

Independent Alaska governor candidate Jessica Faircloth is seen in a photo distributed by the candidate on Feb. 5, 2026. (Handout photo)

The first independent candidate in Alaska’s 2026 gubernatorial election is a single mother of five who says she’s frustrated with the condition of Alaska’s fisheries, its economy and the Permanent Fund dividend.

Jessica Faircloth filed her letter of intent in January, making her the 15th person to sign up for this year’s gubernatorial race. A 16th candidate announced his candidacy this week. 

She’s from Kasilof, a rural community on the Kenai Peninsula. 

Faircloth hasn’t held public office before, but she decided to run after one of her oldest children surprised her with the happy news that she’ll be a grandmother soon.

“I was overjoyed,” she said, “but then I started thinking. My kids are the fourth generation of my family to live in (our) house, and they didn’t get to grow up in the same Alaska I did.”

She recalls digging for clams, always having moose and caribou in the freezer — and then, there were the king salmon.

“We caught so many kings when I was a kid, we turned them loose if they were too small, or they didn’t fight hard enough, or we caught them too early in the day, or they were a little pink,” she said.

“I realized three of my five children have caught a king salmon, and only one of them was over 50 pounds, and they don’t remember digging clams,” she said.

As she was contemplating the future her first grandchild might experience, she said: “It’s like a light bulb went on, and I started to see that Alaska is not being managed for Alaskans.”

The Permanent Fund dividend needs to be guaranteed in the Alaska Constitution, she said. 

Faircloth noted that some oil and gas companies have been able to use writeoffs and exemptions to reduce their taxes to zero. 

“If you look at our oil and gas, the tax structure allows zero tax years … and our Legislature hasn’t done anything to fix them,” she said.

Fisheries are big in her mind, too.

“The whole West Coast doesn’t have any salmon. I don’t have any king salmon. I love them more than anything in the world,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s the PFD, our state budgeting — none of it, none of it, is being managed to benefit Alaskans. It’s benefiting outside corporate interests, mainly, and I am absolutely morally and ethically appalled and pissed off,” Faircloth said.

Faircloth was one of more than 19,000 Alaskans registered as members of the Alaskan Independence Party when it dissolved last year. Now, she’s registered as “undeclared” and campaigning independently of any party. 

“I’m one of those people that doesn’t just sit back and complain … that’s the mentality I grew up with. You either do something or you stop complaining,” she said.

Independent Alaska candidate for governor Jessica Faircloth is seen with a king salmon in this undated photo provided by the candidate. Preserving salmon runs is a major priority for the candidate. (Campaign handout photo)

Faircloth’s policy positions don’t fit into the standard Alaska political boxes. 

She supports a constitutional dividend, something Republicans in the Alaska Legislature tend to champion. She also wants to see more support for public school teachers, a position typically held by legislative Democrats.

“There’s no pension. There’s no benefits. It’s underfunded,” she said of the state’s public school system.

“I just — I’m watching my teacher friends, especially some of the younger ones, and they are so discouraged,” Faircloth said.

She’s a fan of the “Stop Alaskan Trawler Bycatch” Facebook page and supports anti-trawl appointees to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and other fishery regulators.

“I understand that the governor actually has very little power (on fisheries), but the power that the governor does have is who they appoint as commissioners and on boards, and that is where the strength of Alaskan government comes from,” she said.

Eight years ago, she voted for current Gov. Mike Dunleavy, but she’s soured on him. 

“I really believed, you know, that he was going to be able to get the dividend in the Constitution. And I just expected great things from him. And after eight years, I’m kind of let down,” she said.

Dunleavy is term-limited and unable to run for a third term, a fact that has encouraged a large number of candidates to enter the race.

So far, there are three Democrats, 12 Republicans and Faircloth. 

The deadline to register with the Alaska Division of Elections is 5 p.m. June 1.

The four candidates who receive the most votes in the August primary election will advance to the November general election.

“I’ve been a broke-ass single mom with a backbone and the ability to budget, and that is what our state needs right now,” she said. “Somebody to walk in there and say, ‘OK, listen, you’re not doing your job, and we’re all in this together. So I need everyone to step up and to do what they’re supposed to.’ I just think that Alaska should be managed for Alaskans first. And that’s not being done.”

Governor candidates so far

  • Former state Sen. Tom Begich (Democrat)
  • Former state Sen. Click Bishop (Republican)
  • Former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson (Republican) and Lt. Gov. candidate Josh Church (Republican)
  • Former state revenue commissioner Adam Crum (Republican)
  • Current state Sen. Matt Claman (Democrat)
  • Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (Republican)
  • Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna DeVries (Republican)
  • Kasilof resident Jessica Faircloth (Undeclared)
  • Anchorage podiatrist and state medical board member Matt Heilala
  • Former state Sen. Shelley Hughes (Republican)
  • Former state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (Democrat)
  • Author Hank Kroll (Registered Republican) with Lt. Gov. candidate Tommy Nicholson (Undeclared)
  • Angoon resident and former teacher James William Parkin IV (Republican)
  • Former Attorney General Treg Taylor (Republican)
  • Palmer resident Bruce Walden (Republican)
  • Businesswoman Bernadette Wilson (Republican) with Lt. Gov. candidate Mike Shower (Republican)
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Lawmakers advance bill to add state felony charges for AI-generated child sexual abuse material

Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, speaks Friday, April 26, 2024, on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon

Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, speaks Friday, April 26, 2024, on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska lawmakers advanced a bill on Friday that would create new state felony charges for the crime of using artificial intelligence to generate child sexual abuse material.

The House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed House Bill 47, sponsored by Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer on Friday. CSAM, formerly referred to as child pornography, is any material that visually depicts sexually explicit or obscene conduct involving a child under the age of 18.

Vance told lawmakers that AI-generated CSAM is a growing problem that is already affecting Alaska communities. “AI-generated CSAM poses serious risk to children by enabling perpetrators to produce highly realistic virtual images of child abuse,” Vance said in a presentation to lawmakers ahead of the vote. “These images are often indistinguishable from real ones, complicating identification by experts and overwhelming law enforcement’s ability to identify real victims.”

Additionally, she said AI-generated images can be used as blackmail. “These realistic, synthetic images create new avenues for predators to exploit minors and their families through extortion and financial coercion, significantly escalating harm and trauma,” she said.

Vance said she introduced the legislation after an Army soldier stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson was arrested for creating AI-generated CSAM in 2024. 

Vance said the case revealed to her that Alaska law does not have a statute addressing AI-generated CSAM. “But that soldier was prosecuted under federal law, not state law,” Vance said. “Currently, Alaska must rely on federal prosecutions due to our lack of a statute addressing this issue.”

She said she has heard from constituents that the state’s lack of AI-specific CSAM laws is a concern. 

“I also had some mothers in Homer contact me probably about a year and a half ago now that their 13-year-old daughters had been subject to the use of AI,” Vance added. “They went to law enforcement, and Homer Police Department said, ‘Alaska statutes do not address AI-generated use of images.’ And so this hit really close to home for me.”

Homer Police Department officials said they investigated the case and the Kenai District Attorney’s Office charged two middle school boys with exploitation of a minor after they created AI-generated nude images of classmates. 

While there is no Alaska state law specifically addressing AI-generated CSAM, there are statutes that prohibit the viewing, possession or distribution of CSAM. 

“Basically, any depiction of photograph, audio, video recording, drawing, anything like that, if it depicts children being involved in certain sexual simulations or exploitation, then that’s considered exploitation of a minor,” said Lt. Ryan Browning with the Homer Police Department. “We felt like that was enough to meet the probable cause for the statute.”

Statewide, the Alaska Department of Public Safety works with local and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate each CSAM case reported, said Austin McDaniel, director of communications for the agency.

McDaniel said the department does not have data available on the number of recent cases involving AI generated materials. By email, he said the department has received reports of AI-generated CSAM, but he said those reports are not “prevalent.”

He said a team of more than ten investigators work in a unit within the Alaska Bureau of Investigation focused solely on CSAM-related crimes. 

“All that they do is child sexual abuse material investigations, or CSAM investigations, and they certainly and unfortunately, stay busy throughout the year,” he said. He noted a “vast number” of cases are reported to the Anchorage Police Department. 

State public safety officials received 330 reports of alleged CSAM or child exploitation related crimes in 2024, the most recent year of publicly available data. “We go through and investigate those instances, refer charges to state prosecutors, or work very closely with our federal partners when it might be better to pursue federal charges against somebody versus state charges,” McDaniel said. 

Sexual violence is prevalent across Alaska — and 51% of reported victims were minors in 2024. McDaniel noted the most common age of victims of sexual offenses is 13 years old. 

“So between our CSAM investigations or child sexual abuse investigations, you know, we are certainly kept very busy,” he said. “And we are working across the state, around the clock to investigate those instances and to hold anyone that victimizes Alaska’s kids accountable for their actions.” 

Angela Kemp, deputy attorney general for the criminal division of the Alaska Department of Law, said currently the state has to prove that an actual child was used to create the sexual abuse material to prosecute the case. She said investigators use digital forensic tools to determine if the material is AI-generated, or whether there is a child victim. 

“For cases where we cannot prove an actual child was used, law enforcement works with our federal partners to determine whether the conduct can be prosecuted under federal law,” she said. 

Vance said if the legislation is passed, it would criminalize all possession of AI-generated CSAM. “It’s hard to distinguish if there was a real victim involved, or if it is all generated through AI technology, this bill would allow them to say all of it is prosecutable,” she said. 

The bill would also enact new sentencing guidelines for AI-generated CSAM, and depending on the charges and prior felony convictions, offenders could face two to 99 years in prison. 

The bill has been referred to the House Rules Committee, which will determine whether it will go to the full House of Representatives for a vote. If passed, the bill would need to be considered and approved by the Senate to become law.

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Anchorage judge dismisses defamation lawsuit against Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Public Media

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

 The Anchorage Daily News office in Midtown Anchorage is seen on Sept. 16, 2024. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

This article was updated at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday with comment from the plaintiff.

Two of Alaska’s largest news organizations and two top reporters did not commit defamation when they described a former state employee’s statements about rape, a state judge ruled on Tuesday in Anchorage.

Jeremy Cubas, a former aide to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, sued Alaska Public Media, the Anchorage Daily News, Nat Herz and Curtis Gilbert last year. American Public Media, a national organization, was also named in the suit. 

Cubas resigned in 2023, shortly before the publication of an article that described comments he made in two podcast episodes. He filed suit almost two years later, seeking more than $5 million in damages and lost wages.

Cubas specifically challenged two parts of the article — a paraphrase that said Cubas “said it’s fine for a man to force himself on his wife” and the statement that Cubas “made comments about rape.”

In a 22-page order, Judge Christina Rankin said the second statement “is an accurate quote of Cubas’ own statement” in the podcast.

“Defendants used accurate, direct quotes from Cubas in the article. Therefore, Cubas can prove no set of facts that Statement Two is unfairly abridged, mischaracterized, distorted, or littered with slight inaccuracies,” Rankin said.

For the first statement, which was a paraphrase rather than a direct quote, Rankin concluded that it is “a fair abridgement” of Cubas’ words.

Cubas had argued that his belief that it is impossible to rape one’s wife — something he said during the two podcast episodes — is not the same as saying it is fine to “force yourself” on one’s wife.

Cubas’ core argument, Rankin concluded, was that the wording of the paraphrase was such that it implied Cubas believed it was OK for a spouse to “violently rape one’s own wife.”

“However, it is the alleged defamatory statement itself that the Court needs to review for truth, not the plaintiff’s inflamed version of the statements,” Rankin wrote.

She concluded that given the context given in the article, a reasonable reader would not share Cubas’ perceived implication but would instead “believe what defendants assert he said.”

Because Rankin concluded that the article is accurate, she did not take up Cubas’ other arguments, which included the idea that Cubas was not a public figure and that the reporters had malice against him. 

“The court recognizes that this was good, solid journalism,” said Ed Ulman, president and CEO of Alaska Public Media. “The opinion lays things out thoroughly, but in the end it was simple. Truth is a defense in a libel case.”

By text message, Cubas said he will have more to say later.

“This case is in no way over. I’m working on the appeal,” he said.

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Legislature proposes changes to session length

The Senate Finance Committee

NOTN- A bill introduced in the Alaska Senate would repeal the state’s voter-approved 90-day limit on regular legislative sessions, arguing the restriction has failed to improve efficiency and has instead led to longer, more costly extended and special sessions.

“This bill repeals a law that was in place, it was a citizen’s initiative.” Said Senator Cathy Giessel, “This table certainly, understands more than anyone the complexity of the issues we face, and adjourning mandatorily by 90 days is unrealistic.”

Senate Bill 34 would eliminate a statute that shortened regular legislative sessions from up to 121 days to 90 days. The bill does not establish a new session length, allowing the Legislature’s flexibility to meet for the full duration allowed under the Alaska Constitution.

In a sponsor statement, the bill argues that the 90-day limit has proven “impractical”.

Since the measure took effect, lawmakers have completed their work within 90 days only a handful of times.

“The Alaska Legislature has completed its work within that timeframe on only three occasions.” The statement reads, “Two of these instances occurred in the early years of the measure’s adoption, and the third took place during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. However, these instances were exceptions, not the norm, and have highlighted the inherent flaws of the 90-day restriction.”

In most years, the Legislature has exceeded the 90-day limit and continued work through extended sessions or special sessions, sometimes well beyond the original constitutional limit of 121 days.

The statement says 90 day sessions have not reduced costs or improved productivity. Instead, it argues the deadline has contributed to rushed decision-making, repeated extensions and added expenses associated with convening additional sessions.

SB 34 does not automatically lengthen legislative sessions, but would remove the legal restriction.

“And with that the legislature can adjourn anytime it wants if it gets its business done.” Said Senator Lyman Hoffman.

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Alaska’s race for governor picks up 16th candidate, a former state legislator from Sitka

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins is seen on Jan. 17, 2026, in Sitka, Alaska, in this photo provided by Kreiss-Tomkins. (Handout photo)

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins is seen on Jan. 17, 2026, in Sitka, Alaska, in this photo provided by Kreiss-Tomkins. (Campaign handout photo)Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins is seen on Jan. 17, 2026, in Sitka, Alaska, in this photo provided by Kreiss-Tomkins. (Handout photo)

Former state legislator Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat from Sitka, is running for governor, he said Tuesday.

Kreiss-Tomkins, frequently known as “JKT,” served in the Alaska House of Representatives between 2013 and 2023. He becomes the 16th candidate and third Democrat to enter this year’s gubernatorial election.

Incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited and unable to run for a third term. 

In Alaska, the top four vote-getters, regardless of political party, advance from the August primary to the November general election. In November, Alaskans use ranked-choice voting to name their preferences.

Kreiss-Tomkins said he’s running because Alaska has big problems and he’s interested in solving them. 

“I really enjoy working with people from diverse backgrounds and different viewpoints and perspectives to try to forge compromise and get things done,” he said.

While in the Legislature, Kreiss-Tomkins was a member of the bipartisan, bicameral fiscal working group that in 2021 drafted a plan intended to bring the state’s finances in line over the long term.

Though that plan was never enacted, its components resemble the fiscal plan introduced this year by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

“We’re in a perpetual budget uncertainty,” Kreiss-Tomkins said, identifying the state’s fiscal situation as his No. 1 issue. 

Since oil prices plunged in 2015, legislators and governors have struggled to balance Alaska’s budget on an annual basis, occasionally bringing the state to the brink of a government shutdown. 

“We’re living and dying by the price of oil, and we have a structural budget deficit, so the state’s finances are not especially in order, and that is, I think, probably the highest-order problem,” Kreiss-Tomkins said.

He said Dunleavy hasn’t been able to work across party lines and hasn’t been successful with the Legislature. Kreiss-Tomkins contrasted that with his own experience as a member of a Democratic-independent-Republican coalition majority in the state House.

“I feel like we need that same spirit in the executive branch, and if we could have a governor and an executive with that approach and mindset … there’s a tremendous amount of good that we can get done for Alaska,” he said.

Kreiss-Tomkins said the campaign season will show how he differs from the other two Democrats in the race: former state Sen. Tom Begich, and current state Sen. Matt Claman. 

When it comes to the number of other candidates in the race, Kreiss-Tomkins said it’s not a bad thing for Alaskans to have so many choices.

“Seeing so many people willing to run sort of reflects the importance of the election and the gravity of the problems facing Alaska,” he said, adding that he expects “some winnowing of the field as time goes on.”

Candidates for Governor

  • Former state Sen. Tom Begich (Democrat)
  • Former state Sen. Click Bishop (Republican)
  • Former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson (Republican) and Lt. Gov. candidate Josh Church (Republican)
  • Former state revenue commissioner Adam Crum (Republican)
  • Current state Sen. Matt Claman (Democrat)
  • Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (Republican)
  • Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna DeVries (Republican)
  • Kasilof resident Jessica Faircloth 
  • Anchorage podiatrist and state medical board member Matt Heilala
  • Former state Sen. Shelley Hughes (Republican)
  • Former state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (Democrat)
  • Author Hank Kroll (Registered Republican) with Lt. Gov. candidate Tommy Nicholson (Undeclared)
  • Angoon resident and former teacher James William Parkin IV (Republican)
  • Former Attorney General Treg Taylor (Republican)
  • Palmer resident Bruce Walden (Republican)
  • Businesswoman Bernadette Wilson (Republican) with Lt. Gov. candidate Mike Shower (Republican)
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Alaska population rises slightly, but more people continue to move out than move in

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

Cars are driven on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage on Oct. 7, 2024. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska’s population rose slightly between 2024 and 2025 and is now at its highest level since 2017, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced Wednesday.

Alaska had an estimated 738,737 people as of July 1, 2025, the department said in its annual state population estimate.

The rise comes despite a revision that erased thousands of international immigrants that the U.S. Census mistakenly believed had moved to Alaska.

Last year, relying on Census figures showing that thousands of people had migrated to Alaska from other countries, the department estimated Alaska’s population at more than 741,000 people. 

Since then, and after prodding from Alaska state demographer David Howell, the Census Bureau retroactively lowered the number of international migrants that came to Alaska, and this year’s state population estimate is significantly lower than the one published last year.

“We think (that) is more accurate given that people crossing the southern border aren’t very often making their way to Alaska,” Howell said.

With the extra residents removed and a new baseline in place, the state’s population grew on a year-over-year basis because the number of births in the state exceeded the number of Alaskans who died. 

That natural increase — births minus deaths — of 3,389 people was greater than the number of people who moved out of the state.

Between 2024 and 2025, 1,740 more people moved out of Alaska than moved here. It was the 13th consecutive year of negative net migration in Alaska, extending the longest streak of negative net migration since 1945. 

Overall, the state’s population grew by 0.22%. That was less than the nation as a whole (0.5%). Compared with the other 49 states and the District of Columbia, Alaska’s population growth ranked 40th. 

South Carolina (1.5%), Idaho (1.4%) and North Carolina (1.3%) had the highest growth rates among states. Vermont (-0.29%), Hawaii (-0.15%) and West Virginia (-0.07%) had the lowest and were among five states that posted population declines.

The U.S. Census Bureau has slightly different figures than the state — it estimated a 0.1% population gain between 2024 and 2025 — but the Alaska Department of Labor conducts surveys of military bases and group homes that the Census Bureau does not, Howell said. For that reason, he believes the state’s estimate is more accurate than the Census Bureau’s. 

Overall, Howell said, Alaska seemed to simply extend existing population trends between 2024 and 2025.

“We’re continuing to see losses in the working-age population. … We’re really starting to see declines in the school-age population. It was growing slightly at the beginning of this decade, but at this point, there’s about 1,000 more 17-year-olds than there are 4-year olds. And so we’re just going through aging,” he said.

Alaska’s median age is 37.1, one and a half years older than it was at the start of the decade. Haines, the state’s oldest community, has a median age above 50.

As the state ages, the number of new births is dropping and the number of deaths is rising.

Howell and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development are predicting that the state’s population will start dropping steadily by the year 2050. 

The number of births in the latest population estimate is the lowest since the trans-Alaska oil pipeline was built. The number of deaths dropped slightly last year, but Howell said there may be a morbid reason for that: The COVID-19 pandemic peaked in Alaska in 2021-2022 and may have killed elderly Alaskans who would have died later.

This year’s state population estimate retroactively updated the population change between 2021-2022, turning it from a small gain into a decline. 

On a borough and city level, existing trends continued in the latest forecast. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough continues to be the fastest-growing large area of the state, the population of Anchorage is relatively flat, the Interior’s population is growing slightly and Southeast Alaska’s population is falling.

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Mary Peltola, barrier-breaking ex-Alaska congresswoman, is challenging Dan Sullivan in Senate race

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, speaks on Jan. 4, 2024, at a town hall meeting on the possible Albertsons-Kroger grocery merger. The meeting was held at the Teamsters Local 959 headquarters in Anchorage. Peltola said on Tuesday she has not decided whether to support her party's likely candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, speaks on Jan. 4, 2024, at a town hall meeting on the possible Albertsons-Kroger grocery merger. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

AP-Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola said Monday that she would challenge Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in this year’s midterm elections, vowing to shake up the establishment to make life more affordable for Alaskans.

“Life is difficult here, and we know that we have to take care of each other,” Peltola said in a video announcement.

Peltola, who is Yup’ik, was the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress. She won special and regular elections in 2022, defeating a field that included Republican former Gov. Sarah Palin. In 2024, she lost to Republican Nick Begich, who had also run in 2022.

Peltola’s time in Congress was marked by tragedy. Her mother died in 2023, and her husband died in a plane crash later that year.

Peltola focused on local concerns in her announcement, saying Alaska’s future depends on fixing the “rigged system in D.C. that’s shutting down Alaska, while politicians feather their own nests.”

She said the salmon and migratory birds that once filled the freezers of Alaska Native subsistence hunters are now harder to find, forcing families who live far from the state’s limited road system to rely on grocery stores for pricey staples, driven up by high transportation costs.

“It’s not just that politicians in D.C. don’t care that we’re paying $17 for a gallon of milk in rural Alaska,” she said. “They don’t even believe us. They’re more focused on their stock portfolios than our bank accounts.”

Although Democrats are hopeful about picking up seats in this year’s midterms, Alaska could prove to be difficult political terrain. Sullivan, a former state attorney general and natural resources commissioner, defeated the state’s last Democratic senator in 2014.

The Republican National Committee said Peltola became “a rubber stamp for the far-left the second she got to Washington.”

“Alaskans saw through her empty promises then showed her the door, and she’ll lose to Dan Sullivan who fights for Alaskans every day,” RNC spokesperson Nick Poche said in a statement.

While serving in Washington, Sullivan has been involved in military and resource development issues, and he was endorsed by then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

“Senator Sullivan has spent years delivering real results for Alaska: historic investments in our state’s health care, major funding for our Coast Guard, helping protect those who can’t protect themselves and policies that are finally unleashing Alaska’s energy potential,” his campaign spokesperson, Nate Adams, said in an email to The Associated Press.

“His opponent,” Adams said, “served a term and a half in Congress where she didn’t pass a single bill. Alaskans deserve a senator with a proven record of getting things done, and the contrast couldn’t be clearer in this race.”

Peltola has long touted her ability to work across party lines, such as supporting the large Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. She angered some Democrats in 2024 when she refused to endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race won by Trump.

Peltola said Alaska’s Republican congressional delegation used to ignore partisanship and do what was right for the state, such as backing public media and disaster relief, and even invoked Republican former Sen. Ted Stevens.

“It’s about time Alaskans teach the rest of the country what Alaska First and, really, America First looks like,” Peltola said.

Alaska has open primaries and ranked choice voting in general elections. The top four vote-getters in the August primary regardless of party affiliation will advance to the November general election.

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