Early results show Alaskans approving a ballot measure seeking to reinstate limits on individual campaign contributions by a roughly 3-to-1 margin, according to the Alaska Division of Elections.
Currently, Alaska has no limit on individual campaign contributions thanks to a federal appeals court ruling in 2021 that declared the state’s voter-approved $500-per-year limit unconstitutionally low. Candidates have taken advantage in the years since, with politicians of all political stripes taking five- and six-figure donations from contributors within Alaska and Outside.
The ballot measure would set the limit on individual contributions to candidates at $2,000 per two-year election cycle and raise a limit on contributions by political groups to $4,000. Those limits would be adjusted for inflation once a decade in an effort to withstand court scrutiny.
Sponsors of the ballot measure say the fact that candidates can raise unlimited sums of money gives wealthy donors undue influence over the political process and carries a risk of quid pro quo corruption.
Opponents say the limits could force more money into independent groups, which cannot coordinate with candidates but can accept unlimited donations thanks to a series of court decisions dating back to 2010’s Citizens United.
They’ve also argued that raising the limit on group donations, which was not invalidated by the 2021 ruling, would allow unions and political action committees to exercise more influence than they should.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill passed by the Legislature this year seeking to impose identical limits, saying the bill would not do enough to limit self-funded candidates from donating to their own campaigns.
If the ballot measure garners more than 50% of the vote, it would take effect after the November general election. The August primary is Alaskans’ one and only chance to vote on the measure — it will not appear on the November ballot.
