This afternoon, Assembly Leadership published a report detailing the findings of an inquiry into a 2023 Regular Municipal Election complaint previously investigated by the Municipal Ombudsman with proposed changes to elections procedure. The report is supplemental to AO 2023-124, an ordinance amending Title 28 – Election Code, and AO 2023-125, amending Title 8 – Penal Code, which are scheduled to be introduced at the November 21 Regular Assembly Meeting.
“After months of measured inquiry, we are nearing the end point of this case,” said Assembly Vice Chair Meg Zaletel. “With a charter-bound duty to oversee and protect our elections, we conducted four worksessions, deliberated in Ethics & Elections Committee meetings and deployed legal resources to compile a report on the case and deliver solutions to the public that will strengthen the bind between our code, municipal procedure and elections integrity.”
AO 2023-124 proposes changes to Title 28 – Elections Code related to when an election contest is allowed submitted to the Assembly for consideration. If approved, the ordinance would allow an election contest to be submitted at any time during the election process up to noon on the day of the Assembly meeting for certification, rather than current regulations that allow a contest to be submitted only after the election is certified.
AO 2023-125 proposes changes to Title 8 – Penal Code to make misuse of municipal resources for partisan purposes, including to interfere with an election, a misdemeanor crime.
“As Assembly Leadership, we don’t take the public’s concerns for election integrity lightly,” said Assembly Chair Christopher Constant, “and on this case, there were many.
“On August 26, the ADN Editorial Board summarized the concerns with five core questions and this report responds to four of them: we now know, for the most part, who was involved, what was redacted from initial documents, and what actions the Administration took.
“To the fourth question, we hope this report reflects that Anchorage residents can trust their government because there is a branch that leads with accountability and transparency.”
The report (AM 912-2023) is item 10.D.22 on the November 21 Regular Assembly Meeting agenda. If approved, the document will be added to the public record and accessible via the Public Portal to Assembly Documents.
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CONTACT:
Christopher Constant | Assembly Chair
District 1, North Anchorage
christopher.constant@anchorageak.gov
Meg Zaletel | Assembly Vice Chair
District 4, Midtown
meg.zaletel@anchorageak.gov