Alaska had set up campaign finance limits in the past, but three years ago, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals took them down. Jus Tavcar, a volunteer coordinator for Citizens Against Money in Politics, says most Alaskans want them.
“We’ve capped the contributions twice. And most recently it was in 2006, when we also had a volunteer driven ballot initiative, which passed overwhelmingly with 73%. And then in 2021, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the Thompson versus Hebdon decision argued that this cap restricted free speech," Tavcar said.”
Proponents of large contributions say paying for advertising is protected under the First Amendment, while critics complain candidates who receive the money are beholden to their donors, not the people they represent.
The Thompson v. Hebdon decision struck down the $500 per year limit on Alaska legislative races, saying it restricted free speech. The court provided a road map to re-configure campaign limits that are adjusted for inflation. The legislature didn’t do that. So, candidates today can now receive unlimited direct donations from anyone, even outside of Alaska. That happened in the 2022 governor’s race, when some wealthy donors gave more than $100,000 apiece to candidates.
“And at Citizens Against Money in Politics, we believe that equating money to speech is a dangerous precedent because it leaves everyday citizens who are not wealthy, who are just regular folks, without a fair opportunity to participate in a democratic process," Tavcar said.
Tavcar says the initiative would limit contributions to $2,000 per election cycle for an individual candidate’s campaign or more than $5,000 a year to a political party.
“The initiative updates the prior limits to be in line with inflation, and then the caps will be automatically adjusted every 10 years so they remain constitutional and they will move from per campaign limits instead of per year limit," he said.
The initiative will not affect contributions by Super PACs and Independent Expenditure groups. Each of those are defined separately under the law, and are protected by the 2010 US Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, that enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited funds on elections.
Still the proponents of this initiative say it will promote better government and accountability to Alaskan voters. They are trying to collect 27,000 signatures across the state.
The three sponsors of the initiative are Anchorage Representative Calvin Schrage, former Alaska Attorney General and Juneau mayor, Bruce Botelho, and Fairbanks business owner and Iditarod racer, David Monson.
The changes from this initiative won’t have any effect on elections in 2024. If it gets on the ballot and passes, it would go into effect the following year.
