there's no cap right now

Alaska voters will decide Tuesday, August 18, whether to reinstate campaign contribution limits for state and local candidates, five years after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the state's previous caps as unconstitutionally low in 2021. The ballot measure, sponsored by Rep. Calvin Schrage of Anchorage, appears on the same ballot as the state primary.

Right now, there is no enforceable limit on what a single donor can give a candidate in a state or local race in Alaska. If the measure passes, individuals would be capped at $2,000 per candidate per election cycle, rising to $4,000 for a governor's race. Donors could give up to $5,000 to a party or group, and non-party groups would have their own, larger caps, as high as $8,000 for a governor's race. The measure would also switch limits from a per-year basis to a per-election-cycle basis and add inflation adjustments every 10 years. Federal races would not be affected.

Schrage calls the current lack of limits "a gaping hole" in Alaska's campaign finance law and says reinstating caps would push campaigns to rely more on Alaska donors instead of money from outside the state.

Opponents, including Mat-Su Borough Mayor Edna DeVries, argue that donors should be free to give as much as they want to candidates they support, and say transparency requirements and restrictions on political action committees would be better fixes than contribution limits.

The measure passes or fails by simple majority on Tuesday, August 18, the same day as Alaska's primary election.