The group Alaskans Against Government Mandates -- which opposes a ballot initiative that would require parental notification for state minors seeking abortions -- has reported collecting five times the money disclosed by Alaskans for Parental Rights, which supports the initiative, the AP/Anchorage Daily News reports. The proposed initiative would provide only limited exceptions to the parental notification rule, such as cases in which a girl has been abused by a parent. It also would make it a felony for physicians to "knowingly violate" the rule, according to ballot language.
Alaskans Against Government Mandates reported on Friday in a disclosure to the state that it has around $107,000 on hand. Meanwhile, Alaskans for Parental Rights disclosed around $19,600 on hand. The filing by Alaskans Against Government Mandates shows about $594,000 in contributions during its reporting period, while Alaskans for Parental Rights' filing shows about $84,000. After the amounts were released, Jim Minnery, chair of Alaskans for Parental Rights, asked for more money through a mass e-mail. He wrote that the opposing group is "inundating the airwaves, and there is a very real chance that they will defeat us at the polls on Aug. 24." He added, "[T]hey are outgunning us and unless we tell our story far and wide, victory is unlikely."
In related news, Alaskans Against Government Mandates has received complaints that it did not follow new requirements passed by the state Legislature this year for campaign ads, which require all radio and other audio ads to identify the group sponsoring the message in addition to the group's top three donors. Alaskans Against Government Mandates' campaign manager Rhiannon Good said the group has reworked its ads to adhere to the new law (Bohrer, AP/Anchorage Daily News, 7/27).
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