Alaska approves ballot measure establishing new donor disclosure requirements

On Nov. 3, voters in Alaska approved Ballot Measure 2, the "Alaska Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting and Campaign Finance Laws Initiative." Unofficial returns show the measure passed 50.55% to 49.45%. 

About Ballot Measure 2 

Ballot Measure 2 modifies Section 15.13.040 of the Alaska Statutes, which establishes campaign finance reporting requirements for non-group entities, which state law defines as nonprofit groups that seek to influence the outcomes of elections. The modified statute will require non-group entities to disclose for all contributions exceeding $2,000 in total per year "the true source of such contributions and all intermediaries, if any, who transferred such funds." 

Alaska is one of 33 states that require groups making independent expenditures to disclose identifying donor information in campaign finance reports.

Ballot Measure 2 also provides for top-four primary elections for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices. It also establishes ranked-choice voting in general elections for state and federal offices, including the presidency. 

What were the arguments for and against?  

Alaskans for Better Elections led the campaign in support of Ballot Measure 2. Former Rep. Jason Grenn (I-22) was the campaign's chairman. Bruce Botelho (D), the former mayor of Juneau, and Bonnie Jack (R) were campaign co-chairs. The campaign's website said: 

[Ballot Measure 2] requires additional campaign finance reporting for groups and individuals who raise and spend unlimited amounts of 'dark money' in Alaska’s campaigns. Under the proposed reforms, these groups would have to disclose the true sources behind those donations in real-time. Politicians would no longer be able to receive unlimited secret money from wealthy special interests who wish to hide their identities and motives. Candidates can still accept donations, but they’ll have to tell voters where the funds came from so voters can judge for themselves where the candidates loyalties lie.

Defend Alaska Elections opposed the measure. John Sturgeon was the group's chair. In an op-ed for Must Read Alaska, the group said: 

The truth is that Kathryn Murdoch [a supporter of the measure] and her highly paid consultants in Alaska could care less about dark money. How could they when every paycheck they cash is funded entirely by dark money? … Not only does Murdoch not care about stopping dark money, she is openly lying to us. All throughout the campaign you’ve heard her shills claim that they disclose their donors on their website. This is false. The campaign’s website simply lists publicly available campaign finance reports that provide no details whatsoever on the 'true source' of donations behind Ballot Measure 2.