By Edie Grunwald
This campaign season Alaska voters are asking about election integrity, election reform, voting systems and voter accuracy.
I am preparing to get started on election issues on day one. I have already developed some processes that can go into effect immediately. I am all about can-do, will-do, and results. Let’s plan on upfront changes in the best interest of Alaskans.
Let’s start at the top. If we manage and confirm the Integrity of the Alaska election process, the methods of voting, vote counting, other questions become answered as part of the confirmation process.
Past administrations have not taken voter integrity seriously and have done little to investigate and correct any deficiencies we may have.
When elected, as Alaska’s lieutenant governor, I will exercise my statutory authority over our election system and will take immediate action to restore voter confidence in the electoral process.
Candidate for Governor Charlie Pierce has assured us all he will make election integrity a priority. I will take the actions that yield reportable and positive results to the public.
A needless round of feel-good meetings and what-if conversations will be a thing of the past.
First, purging the voter rolls of unqualified or false voter registrations will begin immediately. Alaska has almost 35,000 false voter registrations. That is about 6% with opportunity for voter fraud. That needs no discussion or consideration; it can and will be fixed without delay. Is voter registration proper? Confirm or Delete. Sound simple? Well it is. It just takes effort and consistent attention.
Concerns have been raised about the delayed counting of absentee ballots in Alaska. The fix is not complex — we will count mail-in, absentee and early votes upon receipt and maintain the counts in a secure facility, announcing them on election day. Not magic, it is called common sense.
Some question the veracity and integrity of our selected voting machines. Under my direction the State of Alaska will immediately conduct an intense analysis of the voting machines used, display the results to the public and make any changes necessary to assure confidence.
These tasks and any other anomalies brought to the Election Department attention will be investigated thoroughly and reported on a matter-of-fact basis.
Colonel (Ret.) Edie Grunwald is a candidate for lieutenant governor with the Charlie Pierce for Governor campaign.
