~The security seal used to secure memory cards into Anchorage’s insecure Diebold AccuVote machines. Today in the Mayor’s conference room in City Hall, the Election Commission released the results of its report and recommendations, including revised numbers that say that 65 of 121 precincts ran out of ballots at some point during the day – [...]

There has been a tremendous amount of press about changing the ACES  (Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share) oil tax system, and hardly any press for keeping ACES in place. This guest editorial is from Dr. Douglas Reynolds, a professor of Oil and Energy Economics at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. If the governor really believes [...]

by Linda Kellen Biegel Jeanne did so much work on the first Election Commission Meeting, I felt like Monday was my turn to show up at the continuation. So, I packed my daughter in the car (if one can actually pack a 14-year-old) and headed out. We got there in time to beat the rush [...]

~Mayor Dan Sullivan and Deputy Clerk Jacqueline Duke (R) celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day at McGinley’s Bar of which Sullivan is part owner A hastily-called Saturday meeting of the Election Commission was the scene of some interesting and dramatic revelations. Overheard comments that Assembly Chair Hall will be restructuring a vital committee to install Adam [...]

The internet is a beautiful thing. How else could a political junkie snuggle into the couch in jammie pants with a cup of coffee, and commiserate with other like-minded souls for an event that rivals all this baseball stuff that everyone else seems to be talking about. I speak to you of…. (dramatic pause) the [...]

*sniff* I’m sorry… I just get all choked up hearing Ted Nugent talk about the mystical circle of existence, and how nature is in balance, and how the Palins and all the good people of Alaska live off the land as God intended, and how when we kill stuff, we’re all joined together in this [...]

by Linda Kellen Biegel Steve Aufrecht’s blog “What Do I Know” is an often in-depth look at issues dealing with politics, cooking, travel and snippets from everyday life. Yesterday, Steve came up with quite the “get” — he’s the first one who was able to publish an interview with Guadalupe “Lupe” Marroquin, former Deputy Clerk [...]

More Questions Than Answers As we march ahead, trying to make sense of the Anchorage Municipal election of April 3, and as more citizens step forward to testify, we find that the questions and concerns have multiplied. Any one of several factors is cause for concern: Polling places running out of ballots, voters being turned [...]

  By Brad Friedman [Read the entire excellent article at BradBlog.com. Extensive excerpts below] …And then there are the election officials of Anchorage, Alaska, where, on April 3rd, there was another disastrous election, held on Diebold op-scan systems, in a state becoming known for its disastrous elections. “Those are amazing machines – utterly amazing,” Anchorage Election Commissioner [...]

You may have noticed we have a new advertiser over yonder in the sidebar. (applause) Michelle Scannell is running as a Democrat against Republican Mia Costello! This is great news, and I’ll tell you why. Mia Costello is one of those “uh oh” candidates who reminds me of those earrings that they sell in the [...]

By Jeanne Devon and Linda Kellen Biegel Friday’s Assembly work session at the Loussac Library was a chance for Anchorage Assembly members to ask questions of the key players involved in the botched Municipal election of April 3. They’d be speaking to Gwen Matthews, Chair of the Election Commission; Barbara Gruenstein, Municipal Clerk; Jacqueline Duke, [...]

Looks like the Romneys are having a big fancy fundraiser at the home of the only person that could make Mitt look like the poster child for the ASPCA. Romney, who is loathed by dog-lovers everywhere for his treatment of Seamus, the family dog whom he strapped in a crate to the top of the [...]

~Lennie Moren and Jane Darden speak volumes at the Assembly meeting By Jeanne Devon and Linda Kellen Biegel First things first. If you have not yet signed the online petition asking the Anchorage Assembly to call for a fair and independent audit of the Anchorage election of April 3, 2012, then please do so HERE. [...]

(The Anchorage Assembly has the final say regarding the April 3rd election. The first of two Assembly Meetings dealing with the election starts at 5:00 pm today at the Loussac Library. Please attend and if you can, wear or carry something with a flag (there will be some stickers there) or simply red, white and [...]

By Shannyn Moore If democracy were a religion, voting would be the sacrament. I grew up in “The First Free-Range Organic Christian Church of Homer.” Sundays brought a message, fellowship and a line of repentant souls taking Communion — a remembrance of sacrifice. The first time I cast my vote, it felt similar. The blood [...]