By Paul Dauphinais

This August, Alaska voters will be asked to vote on a Citizens’ Initiative Petition regarding campaign contribution limits. This initiative has important ramifications for Alaska elections in the future. Voters will see this on the ballot: 

Ballot Measure No. 1 23RCF2 – An Act Limiting Contributions to Campaigns 

This act would change the amount of money that people and groups can give to state and local political campaigns. A court ruling in 2021 removed the limits on contributions by individuals. With this act, individuals could give $2,000 to candidates and $5,000 to political parties. Groups besides political parties could give $4,000 to candidates and $5,000 to other parties or groups. Individuals could also give $4,000 to joint campaigns for governor and lieutenant governor, and groups could give $8,000. These limits would increase with inflation every 10 years beginning in 2031. Should this initiative become law? 

A “yes” vote would approve this measure.

This measure was brought on by a 2018 lawsuit alleging that Alaska’s campaign contribution limits were unconstitutional. The Ninth Circuit Court found the limits unconstitutional. The decision was appealed to the Supreme Court and remanded to the circuit court. Upon reconsideration, the individual contribution limits remained unconstitutional in 2021. 

Currently, individual contributions to groups, joint campaigns for governor and lieutenant governor, and candidates are unlimited. Individual contributions to a political party are capped at $5,000 per year. The new limits are noted in the petition language. One notable change is from per -ear to per-election cycle under the petition language. 

The petition defines an election cycle as beginning when a candidate may accept contributions and ending on the day the final report for that campaign is due. A candidate may accept contributions after filing with the Alaska Public Offices Commission up to 18 months before the election. For the November 2026 election, a candidate may register in 2025 and must file a final report in February 2027. The period is part of three calendar years. Under the unconstitutional law, a candidate could receive $1,500 from individuals over that period in $500 increments each year. Under the provisions of the initiative, individuals could contribute $2,000 for the entire cycle, although it could be given in a single lump sum any time during the election cycle. 

Current limits for groups are different and were found constitutional. A group is a combination of two or more individuals organized to influence an election. PACs are considered groups. Groups are currently allowed to give $1,000 per year to candidates, other groups or political parties, and $2,000 to a combined governor/lieutenant governor campaign each year. Under the petition they would have the limits increased to $4,000 for candidates, $5,000 for groups, and $8,000 for combined campaigns per election cycle.

What does this mean to everyday Alaskans? It does place limits on what you can contribute to candidates, groups, and others. While the individual limits address the earlier court cases, the group contribution limits are increased, giving them more potential influence in elections. 

The requirement for the Alaska Public Offices Commission to revise the limits each decade based on the Consumer Price Index makes sense and eliminates periodic changes. 

The change from an annual contribution to per election cycle contribution could be problematic. Allowable contributions under the ballot measure are larger and it can be donated all at once making late pushes possible if donors are waiting in the wings. Finally, groups can make larger donations, giving them more potential influence during campaigns. On the other hand, if the initiative passes, the contribution limits should be stable until 2031.

During the last legislative session, the legislature passed House Bill 16, which mirrored the proposition. Legislators may have been keen to pass the measure rather than have the ballot measure go forth because a law passed by citizens’ initiative cannot be repealed for two years, nor can it be vetoed by the governor. 

The governor did veto House Bill 16. In his veto letter, the governor based his decision on the lack of limiting a candidate’s contribution to their own campaign. Current law allows candidates to contribute unlimited money to their own campaign. The petition is flawed by not addressing this issue. 

Did the governor’s veto let the perfect get in the way of the good? Maybe, but few revisions to laws are perfect. There are good aspects of this ballot measure and some aspects that are not. It will be up to the voters of Alaska to decide if this measure is good enough.

Find the text of the revised statutes on the Alaska Division of Elections website. 

Paul Dauphinais is a former executive director of the Alaska Public Offices Commission. He lives in Homer.