The story has taken this long to get coherent but voters in Anchorage knew something was wrong on election day. The State of Alaska and the ACLU are investigating. It has taken almost a week for the story to be moderately clarified.
What happened was apparently Jim Minnery with Protect Your Rights told those against civil rights that they were eligible to vote at any polling place, the day they register:
"Did you know that people can register and vote at the same location and it doesn't even have to be at their precinct location?"
What followed was a disaster for Anchorage voters as many polling places ran out of ballots despite being prepared for a 70% voter turnout for this election. There were also a dramatic upsurge of provisional ballots, ballots used when a voter is not on a precinct's rolls. The results predicted Tuesday indicated Proposition 5 failed as a measure allowing the majority to decide on granting rights to an oppressed minority. Abet by a slim margin.
ACLU is working on finding out if this vote was sabotaged by homophobes bent on being free to inflict oppression on others without consequence.
We await final results from the Municipal Clerk. We understand that there are several thousand ballots that have not yet even been counted. Additionally we recognize the community has concerns with the conduct of the election – we share them. We have reached out to the Clerk’s Office, and fully expect that they will provide information to us as it become available. We assure you that we will work to ensure an equal and fair process. Any voter who believes their right to vote may have been denied is encouraged to contact the ACLU of Alaska at (907) 263-2015 or akclu@akclu.org.
The key to the supposition that this vote was fraudulently rejected is this statement by Jim Minnery:
An email sent Tuesday afternoon by Jim Minnery with Protect Your Rights (PDF), a group opposing equal-rights initiative Proposition 5, told people they could register and vote on the same day.
"Did you know that people can register and vote at the same location and it doesn't even have to be at their precinct location?" Minnery wrote in the email.
City law, however, requires voters to register for an election 30 days before it occurs -- a fact which makes Minnery's claim false, according to Municipal Clerk Barbara Gruenstein.
"That's not true," Gruenstein said.
While Gruenstein said it wouldn't be accurate to claim people were trying to "crash" the election, she did say she had reason to believe that people from outside Anchorage were attempting to vote.
Gruenstein says city workers were driving additional ballots to affected polling places Tuesday night. She says nearly every precinct in town received questioned ballots, and it is "anybody's guess" how long a complete count of absentee and questioned ballots could take.
The virulence of this group is evidenced in the offensive commercials that were aired regarding Proposition 5
UPDATE: Minnery's sudden amnesia about voting rules; the ACLU sets up a hotline in Anchorage to investigate election fraud and disenfranchisement.
The results of yesterday's chaotic Anchorage municipal election are still in doubt due to much greater than expected turnout and a shortage of ballots. Oh — and apparent widespread voter fraud knowingly encouraged by a leading antigay organization.
Jim Minnery, leader of Anchorage anti-LGBT protection ordinance group Protect Your Rights is the cousin of Tom Minnery, senior vice president of Government and Public Policy for Focus on the Family and a founding member of the Alliance Defense Fund and former chairman of the board. The Alliance Defense Fund recently attempted to torpedo an Omaha LGBT protection ordinance, but failed.
An email was sent to many encouraging them to vote in districts that were not their own. It also suggested telling others to do the same:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
Anchorage’s election results were left with clouded results and thousands of ballots waiting to be counted late Tuesday evening, in the wake of an erroneous message urging ineligible voters to the polls that caused ballot shortages and saw voters turned away from polling places.
In an email (PDF) and a Facebook post Tuesday, Jim Minnery with Proposition 5 opposition group Protect Your Rights urged supporters to visit the polls -- but gave them incorrect information about municipal voting procedures.
"Did you know that people can register and vote at the same location and it doesn't even have to be at their precinct location?" Minnery wrote in the email.
Here is the text of the Facebook post that is being referred to:
Attention Young People or First Time Voters (PDF)- YOU CAN REGISTER AND VOTE AT THE SAME LOCATION TODAY !! It is super easy. Take a few minutes TODAY and stop by a polling station, register to vote ( all you need is your AK driver's license ) and cast a NO Vote on Prop. 5. We really need you to vote. Tell at least 3 of your friends how easy it is.
Click on the MyNeighborhood link below to find your polling place. Once in MyNeighborhood type in your address, then use the Political pull down menu. A map with your polling place location, street address, and Assembly representatives will be displayed.