I would like to address the problems that the Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)
Election System has created in the Great State of Alaska. This system was initiated by Alaskans for Better Elections. The organization was given an immense amount of Dark Money from organizations from outside of our State to ensure that RCV would be implemented State wide. We became aware of how awful this system was when it impacted our 2022 election.
As a resident of Alaska for over 35 years, I would like to list a few of my concerns with the Ranked Choice Voting System:
1. There is a Zoo primary which has numerous problems. One of which, is that there is no vetting. This opens the door to fraud and manipulation of the system. This recently came to light when a convicted felon incarcerated in New York, placed his name on the ballot to run against Mary Peltola as the Democrat candidate.
The second problem is that one person is not selected for the Party during the primary vote. This results in the vote being split out if you have 2 people of equal likability and similar views on the issues. This can occur whether you are Republican, Democrat, or Independent.
2. Because of the complexity of the system, there is a long delay in receiving the results. I remember knowing the results in 24 hours, now it is 3 weeks or more. This again opens up a door of opportunity for fraud!!
3. Many of the ballots were trashed in the 2022 election, because the people did not understand how to vote. If you have to send out instructions and pay for commercials to tell people how to vote, you do not have a user friendly system.
4. Recently we have been bombarded by commercials for “No on 2”; their intent is for the Ranked Choice Voting System to remain in place. The commercials, again are being initiated by Alaskans for Better Elections. They tried everything, to try to keep the Ballot Measure off the ballot in 2024; even taking it to the Alaska Supreme Court, so that Alaskans would not have a voice as to whether they would like to keep RCV or return to the traditional closed election system that we have used for hundreds of years. They lost the battle in court, so now they are using 4.3 million DOLLARS in DARK MONEY (which they received in August 2024)
to tell us that we don’t want dark money used in our State to influence our election. Wow!!! This is the definition of DECEPTION.
The bottom line, don’t fall for their attempt to deceive and confuse; VOTE YES ON BALLOT MEASURE 2 !!!!!!
L. Kathryn Holmstrom
Anchorage, AK
The Ballot Bandits: How Out-of-Staters Are Undermining Alaska’s Elections
In a dramatic turn of events, the Alaska Democrat Party is now expressing disdain over the ranked-choice voting system (RCV) with the same fervor that Republicans have shown for years.
This change in attitude is fueled by the shocking inclusion of an out-of-state felon on the House ballot –a development that has ignited significant backlash within the Democrat party.
Eric Hafner, a Democrat currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in New York for threatening public officials in New Jersey, has never lived in Alaska and has no ties to the state. Yet, astonishingly, he has advanced to the “final four” candidates on the November ballot due to the dropout of two competitors ahead of him.
How did an incarcerated felon with no Alaskan residency even make it onto our ballot? This fact highlights one of the glaring flaws in our damaged election system.
Hafner’s unexpected place on the November ballot has ignited a strong response from the Democratic Party, who recently sued the Division of Elections in an unsuccessful attempt to remove Hafner. Hafner’s inclusion threatens to split the vote, echoing the 2022 Palin-Begich dynamic.
But Hafner’s place on the ballot isn’t the first instance we’ve seen of outsiders attempting to influence our elections. In 2022, Shoshana Gungurstein, an actress from California, launched a campaign in Alaska for US Senate.
Gungurstein registered to vote in Alaska in April of 2022, then subsequently filed her candidacy. Gungurstein’s late registration disqualified her from running in any state-level races, but the US Constitution, being looser with its election laws, allowed her to run for US Senate. Her campaign was also primarily funded by out-of-state sources.
Between the rising occurrences of outsiders attempting to weasel their ways into our elections, suspicion about Dominion voting machines, and the influx of dark money from outside sources, have led both Democrats and Republicans to question the integrity of our election system. It’s clear that our democratic process is under threat.
Alaska’s Supreme Court has already addressed the unconstitutionality of RCV, but the fight isn’t over. Support our efforts by visiting www.yeson2ak.com and voting YES ON 2 this November to ditch RCV as our electoral method.
Mikaela Emswiler
Anchorage, AK
The Veterans Exposed to Toxic PFAS Act: A Call for Health Care Services and Benefits for U.S. Veterans and their Families Exposed to PFAS Chemicals
Jonathan Sharp is Chief Financial Officer at Environmental Litigation Group, P.C. The law firm, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, assists military personnel who were injured due to toxic exposure during active duty.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or forever chemicals, are used in various domestic and commercial applications. These large, complex groups of synthetic chemicals make firefighting foam effective in extinguishing fire. Because of their chemical structure, these compounds are persistent and do not naturally degrade once they enter the body and are released into the environment.
The Department of Defense, since the 1970s, began using aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) to combat fuel fires during training and fire emergency responses. A case-control study involving 530 active-duty Air Force service members examined the serum concentrations of PFAS compounds: perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
There are elevated serum concentrations of PFAS among military personnel involved in firefighting, and the serum elevation of PFOS was associated with an increased risk of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT).
The extensive use of AFFF on military bases is a source of environmental contamination in surrounding groundwater and drinking water. In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set a combined safety value in drinking water for PFOA and PFOS at 70 parts per trillion (ppt). Later, the EPA recognized that there are no acceptable safe levels of exposure to PFAS, updating the safety limits to 0.004 ppt for PFOA and 0.02 ppt for PFOS.
The Environmental Working Group has identified several military sites in Alaska with PFAS contamination. The combined PFOA and PFOS levels at the Galena Air Force Base are 257,710 ppt, 3,682 times higher than the 2016 EPA safety value of 70 ppt. The base’s location on the northern bank of Galena will likely affect surrounding communities through PFAS runoff into drinking water wells and the Yukon River.
The Eareckson Air Station has a combined PFOA and PFOS level of 10,320 ppt, approximately 147 times higher than the 2016 EPA safety value of 70 ppt. Meanwhile, Fort Wainwright’s combined PFOA and PFOS level is 3.40 ppt. It does not exceed the 2016 EPA safety value of 70 ppt, but it surpassed the new EPA standards of 0.004 ppt for PFOA and 0.02 ppt for PFOS.
As of September 2024, the total number of AFFF-related personal injury lawsuits is now 9,576. This reflects the increasing health conditions caused by PFAS exposure. Veterans and their affected family members in Alaska can seek disability compensation for testicular cancer and other health conditions related to PFAS through the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). Medical documentation is necessary for them to be eligible, and it should prove that their health conditions are due to PFAS exposure that was acquired during military service.
However, health conditions associated with PFAS exposure often develop over several years, making it difficult to remember when symptoms first appear. Other diseases have similar symptoms to those PFAS-related conditions, increasing the risk of misdiagnosis.
The need for national legislation for PFAS results in limited criteria for diagnosing the health condition. In response, Senator Jeanne Shaheen introduced the Veterans Exposed to Toxic PFAS Act, also known as the VET PFAS Act, in the Senate on July 17, 2023. It provides and extends the eligibility for VA hospital care and medical services to veterans and their family members, including those in utero, with specific health conditions, who resided at a military installation with known PFAS contamination.
It aims to improve access to medical and hospital services and fund PFAS-related health research. It will develop diagnostic criteria and training programs for healthcare providers that will standardize their skills in handling PFAS cases. The increased funding expands diagnostic centers nationwide, improving the environmental and biological detection of PFAS and reducing the risk of misdiagnosis.
Disability claims will offer temporary financial relief for U.S. veterans, but the VET PFAS Act will address the root causes of PFAS exposure. Prevention efforts will reduce PFAS-related cases over time, leading to healthier populations and reducing the burden on health systems and the need for disability support in the future.
Jonathan Sharp, Chief Financial Officer
Environmental Litigation Group, P.C.
Birmingham, Alabama
