By SUZANNE DOWNING
July 30, 2026 – Ballot Measure 1 on Alaska’s Aug. 18 primary ballot has one of those titles designed to make voters feel comfortable. It is officially called the “Establish Campaign Contribution Limits for State and Local Elections Initiative.”
Who could oppose limits? Who could oppose fairness? Who wants big money controlling Alaska elections?
But voters need to look past the label and examine what this measure actually does. Ballot Measure 1 would not take organized money out of Alaska politics. It would give political action committees substantially more power, strengthen the hand of labor unions ,and weaken the relative influence of individual Alaskans and political parties. It simply rearranges who gets the power, to the benefit of unions and PACs.
Under Alaska’s old campaign-finance system, an individual could contribute $500 per year to a candidate. A PAC could contribute $1,000, twice as much as an individual.
Federal courts struck down the $500 individual limit because it was simply too restrictive. It had not been adjusted for inflation, was among the lowest contribution limits in America and made it harder for challengers to raise enough money to compete against incumbents.
Once that limit disappeared, individuals were free to contribute $10,000, $20,000 or even more to candidates. That may make some Alaskans uncomfortable, but at least the money is direct and transparent. The public can see the donor’s name, the amount contributed and the candidate who received it.
Importantly, the courts did not strike down the $1,000 limit on PAC contributions to candidates. That limit remained in place. Ballot Measure 1 would now limit an individual to $2,000 per election cycle while quadrupling the PAC limit from $1,000 to $4,000.
Read that again: An individual Alaskan would be limited to $2,000, while a political action committee could give twice as much.
And there is no shortage of PACs in today’s world. Any collection of people with a common interest can organize a political action committee. A labor union can have a PAC. A business association can have a PAC. Environmental activists can have a PAC. Even the Alaska Peony Growers Association could organize one.
The important question is not whether a particular group should be permitted to participate. Of course it should. The question is why Ballot Measure 1 gives organized political committees twice the direct contribution power of an individual citizen.
The multiplication effect is where the real power lies. Under the existing $1,000 PAC limit, 10 separate union PACs can contribute a combined $10,000 to one candidate. Under Ballot Measure 1, those same 10 PACs could deliver $40,000.
Add a few more union-affiliated PACs and the total could reach $50,000 for one legislative candidate, serious money in an Alaska House or Senate race. In some districts, it could provide the financial foundation of an entire campaign.
Labor unions already wield enormous influence in Juneau. They walk the halls of the Legislature, and have money, experienced political organizers, paid staff, membership lists and the ability to concentrate resources in a handful of strategic races. They know which seats will determine control of the House and Senate, and they know how to make their money count.
Ballot Measure 1 would quadruple the amount each PAC could put directly into those selected campaigns.
The measure also places political parties at a comparative disadvantage.
Current law allows a party to contribute $10,000 to a state House candidate and $15,000 to a state Senate candidate. Those limits would remain unchanged when Ballot Measure 1 takes effect.
The PAC limit, however, would jump from $1,000 to $4,000.
Voters should care because at least political parties are accountable to the public. They have platforms, elected officers, conventions, public meetings and identifiable candidates. PACs are accountable primarily to the special interests that created them.
The August 18 primary’s Ballot Measure 1 would encourage candidates to depend more on clusters of union, business and ideological PACs. It is a transfer of influence.
The people advancing this measure are not political innocents. Its primary sponsor, Bruce Botelho, is a prominent Juneau Democrat, a former Alaska attorney general under Govs. Wally Hickel and Tony Knowles, a former Juneau mayor, and a veteran political organizer. He also helped lead Bill Walker’s gubernatorial transition team. He is an insider’s insider and one of the prominent advocates for ranked-choice voting.
The other sponsors are David Monson and Rep. Calvin Schrage. Both identify as undeclared, but both signed the petition seeking to recall Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy back in 2019. Schrage is a co-chairman of the House Finance Committee in the Democrat-dominated House majority.
They understand how political power works. They understand how PAC money can be concentrated. And they understand that labor unions already possess the organization needed to take immediate advantage of a fourfold increase.
Ballot Measure 1 will probably attract support because of its reassuring name. Many voters will see “campaign contribution limits,” fill in the “yes” oval and assume they have voted against big money.
In reality, independent-expenditure groups and super PACs would remain free to raise and spend unlimited amounts. Organized PACs would gain greater direct contribution power. Union influence could multiply. Political parties would become relatively weaker.
Alaskans should ask a simple question before voting: Do political action committees and labor unions need even more power over our elections than they already possess?
My answer is no. Ballot Measure 1 will not make Alaska elections more fair. It will make candidates more dependent on organized political money while giving voters the comforting illusion that something has been fixed.
Don’t fall for the big lie of Ballot Measure 1.
Suzanne Downing is founder and editor of The Alaska Story and is a longtime Alaskan.
Ballot Measure 1 explainer: It would quadruple PAC giving while weakening Alaska’s political parties
5 thoughts on “Suzanne Downing: Ballot Measure 1 gives more power for PACs, less power for Alaskans”
If nothing stops a labor union from having more than one PAC, what stops every official and representive in a labor union from having his own PAC and “contributing” accordingly?
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If Ballot Measure 1 passes, what stops individual Alaskans and political parties from forming as many PAC’s as necessary to get their money where they want it to go?
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Could Ballot Measure 1 therefore be irrelevant?
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A collage of voters, ballots, dollar signs, and PAC-MAN machines might fit well here, no?
Each individual can be a part of as many PAC’s as they want. This bill only limits individuals to the extent that they’d have to create PAC’s to donate unlimited amounts of funds, since most people won’t do that it effectively only limits individuals 1st Amendment rights.
Makes you wonder if BM1 would survive a First Amendment challenge.
R u saying vote no on this?
Correct. Vote ‘no’ on 1, and ‘yes’ on 2. Ballot Measure 1 is on the primary ballot.