Election Reform Bait-And-Switch

We have Options

Many Alaskans appear to be in denial that our modern elections could be circumvented by forces of evil. They seem to think the Alaska Ranked Choice Voting proposition that barely passed in 2020 is about taking power away from the established Democrat and Republican parties.[1] Other concerned Alaskans continue to comb the Alaska Division of Elections’ sanitized voter rolls, asking questions and identifying election problems, in search of the smoking gun of election fraud.

Https://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/20GENR/data/sovc/ElectionSummaryReportRPT24.pdf

But what if the circumstances of the diseased election were manipulated so that the symptoms are all we can discern? Smoke but no fire.

I am myself extremely concerned about Ranked Choice Voting that passed in this state, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Member and Fox News Contributor, Kimberley Strassel explained to a group of conservative Alaskans gathered Saturday, September 20. I realize it must go through one voting cycle, but it is an issue we should not just let pass. It needs a lot of attention because that is also part of the game: To change very trusted and tried systems not because it is viewed as necessary voting reform but rather as a means to gain political dominance.

What we face as Alaskans

As a colony of the United States of America we in Alaska are easily manipulated by other states. We cannot look to our nearest neighbors, Russia or Canada, for help. We must run our state in accordance with laws of Mother America. Still, Alaskans must stand our ground when faced with policies and practices foisted on us by outside interests with ulterior motives who do not share our long-term values.

Providing outstanding accommodations in Eagle River since 1991

So, we look to Washington, to Oregon, to California and wonder: Why would we do what THEY are doing?

Strassel: We know Democrats used Covid as an excuse to change all the rules in a way that would help them on election day.The reason we know this is very telling: when Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker again in 2018 the very first bill she brought up to the floor for consideration—long before Covid—was about election reform.

The Democrats called it an “anti-corruption” bill.[2] Haha.

Strassel writes the Potomac Watch column and podcast for the WSJ helping international readers understand correlation between actions in DC and politician’s words.

Strassel explained: Whenever a new majority takes over in the U.S House of Representatives the first bill they bring up is considered their greatest priority, and it gets the title HR 1. House Speaker Pelosi and her people had campaigned on all kinds of things–healthcare, immigration reform, cost of living–but yet, when they took over, their number one priority HR 1—was Election Reform. That tells you everything you need to know about what has happened in the subsequent two years.

This is called duplicity (deceitfulness; double-dealing).

That election takeover bill they pushed in 2018–and that they are pushing now—and that they want to break the Senate filibuster rule for[3], is a bill that replicates what we saw in the Covid Emergency: Same-day voter registration, all mail-in balloting, ballot harvesting—In which people are paid to go out and collect voter’s ballots to turn them in. You can’t know what is happening behind the scenes, continued Strassel. This is essentially the system they have in California; Pelosi wants to “California-ize” the entire country’s election laws by a federal election takeover.

Big government politicians and bureaucrats must understand: ELECTIONS ARE RUN BY THE STATES.

As residents of a modern-day colony of the US, Alaskans know what federal takeover means. We have seen policies regarding access and development of our natural resource bounty played like a football at the Super Bowl. Medicaid has swamped our healthcare system, giving better benefits to people on the dole than to Medicare seniors who earned their benefits over years of working and contributing. If it weren’t for our strategic location on the globe Alaska might be relegated to a federal preserve for the US Park Service.

Oh, and don’t forget: The filibuster they now want to replace has traditionally been a tool of the Democrats. The record for the longest individual speech goes to South Carolina’s Strom Thurmond, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.[3]

Strassel continued: Democrats will say “we need this because it makes it easier to vote and it will cause greater voter participation. If you don’t believe in this, then obviously you are for Jim Crow and you are racist.”

What ABOUT California voter participation?

If you look at the statistics from the past four presidential elections, do you know what state has some of the lowest participation rates–at the bottom of the pack in presidential elections? Over the past four presidential elections it has ranked 46th, 49th, 49th and 43rd in voter turnout—CALIFORNIA! By contrast, do you know what state has some of the toughest voting laws in the country? NEW HAMPSHIRE!

The Constitution of New Hampshire sets a high bar for voting integrity.

It is written in their state constitution that you MUST vote in person in New Hampshire. There are a few exceptions–for serving overseas or for disability–but otherwise you must vote in person, explained
Stossel. They don’t have “provisional ballots,” where a voter says: “oh, I forgot my ID so if you will just let me fill this out, if it is necessary after the election you can verify it,” because New Hampshire has a rule–again in their Constitution–that says every ballot has to be opened on election day and must be called out in a public square at the end of the day. And each voter must show an ID.

Alaska’s Constitution provides for suffrage and elections in Article V.[5] The two suffrage issues which generated the most controversy at the constitutional convention were voting age and literacy requirements. Our voting age is 18 and the requirement that voters must be able to read and write English has been eliminated.

And of course, running elections is the biggest job of the Lt. Governor. This writer has written previously about election management concerns.[6]

A national effort to bring accountability continues and legal action is explained here:

Historically New Hampshire has had to stand its own ground.

As one of the original 13 colonies, control of the New Hampshire colony changed several times before the colony declared its independence. It was a Royal Province prior to 1641 when it was claimed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was dubbed the Upper Province of Massachusetts. In 1680, New Hampshire returned to its status as a Royal Province, but this lasted only until 1688 when it again became part
of Massachusetts. New Hampshire regained independence—from Massachusetts, not from England—in 1741. At that time, the people elected Benning Wentworth as its own governor and remained under his leadership until 1766.[6]

We share some similarities. Alaska was first owned by the Russian/American Company under the relentless dictatorship of Lord Aleksandr Baranof. In the 1950’s a Republican President, Dwight Eisenhower asked why a state that was wall-to-wall Democrats–and broke–should become a state? Alaska statehood became possible by bringing in Hawaii–which was rich with sugar production and wall-to-wall Republican. Tit for tat.

How things have changed!

Since the 2020 election many Alaskans have become exercised about election integrity. They are combing the Division of Election databases and a lawsuit was filed challenging the constitutionality of Ranked-Choice-Voting. I have posted the legal filing in its entirety in References.[7]

In her talk to Alaskans, Strassel further reflected on conditions that have made New Hampshire a bastion of election integrity and strong voter participation:

They have a great Secretary of State there, named Bill Gardner, who is the longest serving Secretary of State in the nation, Strassel said. He has been there for something like 24 consecutive two-year terms, and he is a Democrat. But he came to Washington DC to rail against Pelosi’s bill, and he made the point that what we should want in elections is both ease of voting—don’t make it difficult for people to vote—and we must have belief and trust in the system. THAT is what encourages people to come out and vote.

Many Alaskans who care about this state are longing for the same thing.

References:

[1]Happytalk about Ranked Choice Voting

https://campaignlegal.org/democracyu/accountability/ranked-choice-voting

[2]HB 1 presented as “anti-corruption” legislation

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/30/18118158/house-democrats-anti-corruption-bill-hr-1-pelosi

[3]Senate Filibuster Rule

https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/filibusters-cloture/overview.htm

[4]Alaska Constitution

https://ltgov.alaska.gov/information/alaskas-constitution/

[5]What if Alaska’s Election was hacked?

https://donnliston.net/2021/04/what-if-alaskas-election-was-hacked.html