A recent complaint suggests that a fringe political group associated with Sarah Palin may have violated campaign finance laws.
The group in question, "Alaskans for Honest Elections," is dedicated to ending ranked-choice voting in Alaska. The complaint, filed by Alaska lawyer Scott Kendall of the firm Cashion Gilmore, alleges a range of violations, including attempts to circumvent disclosure laws, obscure financial information, provide tax breaks for donors, and engage in self-enrichment, as reported by The Daily Beast.
Kendall, in describing the alleged violations, stated, "You turn over one rock and there's more, turn over another and there's more there too. With the kind of simple-mindedness involved here, as an attorney it's almost intoxicating."
Sarah Palin, who blames ranked-choice voting for her loss in a congressional campaign last year, serves as the national spokesperson for the group. The complaint also raises concerns about the group's funding, which comes from a "church" established in Washington state known as the "Ranked Choice Education Association." Kendall's complaint argues that the group is unlawfully using its self-declared status as a "nonprofit religious organization" to avoid registering with the Alaska Public Offices Commission as a political group.
"They haven't denied they formed a fake church, they admitted they've formed both of these groups as churches, and they haven't undermined anything factual about the complaint, just broadly characterizing it as misinformation," Kendall explained. "They say it's none of your business, but to me that's not a defense."
The groups behind Alaskans for Honest Elections, which appear to be subsidized by Wellspring Ministries, led by anti-LGBTQ megachurch pastor Dr. Art Mathias, have attempted to justify the tax status of the Ranked Choice Education Association using legal claims borrowed from the anti-government sovereign citizen movement.
Login