Dahlstrom, a Republican who is one of 17 candidates running for governor, is charged with overseeing Alaska's election system, including the ballot initiative process.
A group called Alaskans for Citizen Voting, formed by three Republican former state lawmakers, has met the requirements to place an initiative on the ballot seeking to add a single word to a state law that already requires Alaska voters to be U.S. citizens.
The ballot group, formed by former House Speaker Mike Chenault, former Sen. John Coghill and former Sen. Josh Revak, submitted 34,944 valid voter signatures from across the state, according to a tally by the Division of Elections, meeting the required threshold of 34,098 valid signatures from residents of at least 30 state House districts, to put the question on this year's ballot.
Under existing state law, "A person may vote at any election who is a citizen of the United States." The petition seeks to amend the statute to read, "Only a person who is a citizen of the United States ... may vote at any election."
Supporters of the effort say it will eliminate ambiguity in existing law. Opponents say the measure could confuse voters by giving the impression that current Alaska law allows non-citizens to participate in state elections. It does not.
There is no evidence of widespread efforts by noncitizens to vote illegally in Alaska or elsewhere in the U.S. But the unfounded threat has been repeated by a number of Republicans in Alaska and across the country, echoing false claims by President Donald Trump.
The main funders of the Alaska initiative, according to campaign disclosures, are groups called Americans for Citizen Voting and American Principles Project PAC. Both groups are funded by Dick Uihlein, a billionaire GOP donor.
Uihlein, whose box company Uline is headquartered in Wisconsin, has bankrolled citizen initiatives across the country on topics associated with the political right, including one in Michigan seeking to require photo identification to vote.
Under Alaska law, the citizen voting initiative will appear on the ballot of the first statewide election held 120 days after the adjournment of the legislative session. That means it will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, unless the Legislature adjourns its current session on or before April 20, in which case it will appear on the Aug. 20 primary ballot.
The ballot initiative comes amid broader efforts led by Trump and other leaders within the Republican Party to enact stricter requirements to vote.
The U.S. Senate began debate on Tuesday on a bill that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote.
Alaska's U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the only Republican who voted against advancing debate on the bill, which is opposed by Democrats.
The measure has split Alaska's all-Republican congressional delegation, receiving support from U.S. Rep. Nick Begich and U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan — who are both up for reelection this year — and opposition from Murkowski, who has called it "federal overreach."
Anchorage Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski said Tuesday that the impacts of the federal bill would be "dire" and "disastrous" for Alaska.
Wielechowski said the legislation advanced by congressional Republicans would require Alaskans to register to vote in-person — a requirement that would be onerous and in some cases impossible for residents who live off the road system.
Thousands of Alaskans live multiple plane rides away from the nearest office of the Division of Elections.
"That's just simply not possible for many rural Alaskans," said Wielechowski.
© 2026 Anchorage Daily News. Visit www.adn.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
