00                   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 8                                                                   
01 Urging Alaska's political parties to use a State of Alaska freedom of choice blanket                                    
02 primary election.                                                                                                       
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS 51 percent of registered Alaska voters list their political party affiliation                           
05 as "undeclared," "nonpartisan," or "other"; and                                                                         
06       WHEREAS only 17 percent of Alaska's voters participated in the August 22, 2000,                                 
07 partially closed primary election despite unprecedented voter turnout efforts; and                                      
08       WHEREAS the partially closed primary election cost $250,000 more than a freedom                                 
09 of choice blanket primary; and                                                                                          
10       WHEREAS holding a freedom of choice blanket primary election with one ballot is                                 
11 less expensive than holding other types of primaries that require more than one ballot; and                             
12       WHEREAS the State of Alaska pays the costs of running a primary election even                                   
13 though it does not have a constitutional obligation to conduct a primary election on behalf of                          
14 political parties; and                                                                                                  
15       WHEREAS the Alaska division of elections received many calls from Alaska voters                                 
16 who were unhappy with the partially closed primary election that was conducted under                                    

01 emergency regulations; and                                                                                              
02       WHEREAS Alaska first instituted a freedom of choice blanket primary in 1947,                                    
03 following a referendum, to ensure that the voices of a broad cross-section of voters would be                           
04 heard; and                                                                                                              
05       WHEREAS, in 1967, a bill introduced at the request of Governor Walter J. Hickel                                 
06 was passed into law restoring the freedom of choice blanket primary after the freedom of                                
07 choice blanket primary was replaced by the legislature in 1959 with an open primary; and                                
08       WHEREAS the experience in Alaska, Washington, and California has been that                                      
09 freedom of choice blanket primaries increase voter participation in primary elections; and                              
10       WHEREAS not allowing the use of a freedom of choice blanket primary protects the                                
11 rights of partisan political parties over the rights of individual Alaska voters; and                                   
12       WHEREAS some primary election regimes other than the freedom of choice blanket                                  
13 primary empower voters registered with a political party more than they empower voters who                              
14 register their party affiliation as "undeclared," "nonpartisan," or "other"; and                                        
15       WHEREAS the State of Alaska may conduct a freedom of choice blanket primary                                     
16 election if recognized Alaska political parties agree to the freedom of choice blanket primary                          
17 format;                                                                                                                 
18       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges all recognized Alaska                                    
19 political parties to establish by party rule that party candidates for the general election ballot                      
20 shall be chosen by a freedom of choice blanket primary.                                                                 
21       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to Mark Chryson, Chair, Alaskan                                         
22 Independence Party; Scott Sterling, Chair, Democratic Party of Alaska; Rachel Garcia and                                
23 Chris Kutsch, Co-Chairs, Green Party of Alaska; Len Karpinski, Chair, Alaska Libertarian                                
24 Party; Ray Metcalfe, Chair, Republican Moderate Party, Inc.; and Randolph A. Ruedrich,                                  
25 Chair, Republican Party of Alaska.