Alaska’s Pro-RCV Campaign Is Bankrolled By Out-Of-State Money

The main group leading the charge to keep ranked-choice voting (RCV) in Alaska has made stopping outside “dark money” in elections a big part of its campaign message. So why is it accepting large swaths of it to ensure the disastrous system remains in place?

A newly released campaign finance report shows that the “No on 2” campaign has received millions of out-of-state funds from left-wing dark-money organizations to help defeat the Last Frontier State’s Measure 2 ballot initiative in the 2026 midterm elections. The initiative seeks to repeal the state’s ranked-choice voting system and eliminate “campaign finance provisions that require persons and entities that contribute more than $2,000 that were themselves derived from donations, contributions, dues, or gifts to disclose the true sources (as defined in law) of the political contributions,” states Ballotpedia.

Under RCV, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-choice votes in the first round of voting, the last-place finisher is eliminated, and his votes are reallocated to the voter’s second-choice candidate. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority of votes.

RCV was narrowly adopted in Alaska in 2020, thanks in part to backing from liberal Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s allies in the state. The system allowed Murkowski to survive a primary challenge in 2022 and has now put the Last Frontier State’s 2026 Senate race and other contests in play for Democrats.

[READ:[READ:Ranked-Choice Voting Is The Monster Under The Bed Of American Elections]

An initiative to repeal RCV made Alaska’s 2024 ballot, but was defeated by fewer than 700 votes after a wave of out-of-state dark money flooded in to defeat the measure. Those forces are now once again dumping money into the Last Frontier State to kill the 2026 repeal efforts.

Despite criticizing “dark money” and “outside spenders” on its website, the Oct. 5 report published by the Alaska Public Offices Commission shows that much of the No on 2 campaign’s roughly $3 million fundraising from the most recent reporting period (July 8-Oct. 2) came from out-of-state groups with a left-wing political agenda.

This includes the D.C.-based National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teacher’s union. The organization is a major supporter of Democrat-aligned campaigns and causes. In recent years, it has espoused support for critical race theory and LGBT “pride,” while opposing all forms of school choice and immigration enforcement.

The Oct. 5 campaign finance report shows the NEA made two donations to No on 2 that total $700,500 during the most recent reporting period.

Also listed as a major No on 2 donor is the Colorado-based Unite America PAC. According to InfluenceWatch, the group “supports moderate-left candidates for elective office and advocates for changes in laws affecting the election process that UA claims will benefit centrist candidates but that are also supported by left-of-center and radical-left interests.” Unite America was one of the “top three contributors” to the campaign that defeated Alaska’s 2024 RCV repeal measure.

The latest financial disclosures show that Unite America PAC gave $1 million to No on 2 on Sept. 28. That’s on top of the nearly $3.61 million the group gave the campaign during the prior donation period.

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is another major No on 2 donor. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization is “the largest union for non-educational government workers” and is “a powerful force in American left-of-center politics,” according to InfluenceWatch. In addition to spending heavily to Democrats’ benefit in the 2024 election, the group staunchly opposes President Trump’s policy agenda and has litigated against the administration.

The Oct. 5 report shows AFSCME gave No on 2 a $250,000 donation on Aug. 11.

Another notable No on 2 donor is the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 775NW Ballot Fund, which appears to operate as a 501(c)(4) arm of the Seattle-based SEIU 775NW. The latter organization is a local affiliate of the national SEIU that “represents home healthcare providers, nursing home employees, and adult day health care workers, mainly in Washington State and Montana,” according to InfluenceWatch. SEIU and SEIU 775NW are big financial players in Democrat Party politics.

The SEIU 775NW Ballot Fund gave $100,000 to the No on 2 campaign on Sept. 18, according to this month’s report. The group also gave $150,000 to the campaign during the previous reporting period.

The last big organizational donation to No on 2 came from the Wyoming-based Way Back PAC, which gave $275,000 to the campaign on Sept. 24. The organization seeks to elect “pro-democracy candidates” (that is, Democrats and Democrat-aligned “independents”) in Western and Midwestern states and has reportedly received funding from the left’s dark money network.

Hudson River Trading co-founder Jason Carroll ($500,000) and venture capitalist Scott Sandell ($100,000) are also among No on 2’s biggest out-of-state donors for the state’s most recent reporting period.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood