Alaska's 3rd Largest Political Party Is No More

Alaska's best-known secessionist brand just voted itself out of existence, leaving 19,000 voters in limbo. Leaders of the Alaskan Independence Party, the state's third-largest political party, met on Dec. 7 and opted to shut it down, according to a statement by former Chair John Wayne Howe, reports the Anchorage Daily News. Founded in the 1970s by Joe Vogler, a fiery advocate of an independent Alaska, the party built its identity around opposition to taxation, support for private land ownership, and, for many members, some form of political distance from DC. Its high-water mark came in 1990, when former Republican Wally Hickel used the party line to win the governor's office.

The party's board—Howe, treasurer Benjamin Petrochko, and secretary Robert Williams—voted to dissolve after concluding many registrants were apathetic, mistook the group for a branch of the GOP, or had simply clicked the wrong box when signing up. "You can't have a grassroots movement if there's nobody in the grass moving," Howe says, noting that a mass mailing to thousands of members drew fewer than 10 responses. The state Division of Elections, which received notice of the move in December, says the 19,117 Alaskans still listed as party members will soon receive their own notices telling them their party is no longer recognized. If they don't pick a new party within 30 days, they'll be registered as "undeclared."

Not everyone is ready to fold the flag. Former Chair Bob Bird says he opposes the dissolution and wants a statewide convention to relaunch the party. Bird distances himself from outright secession, instead backing a future statewide vote on options ranging from remaining a state to becoming a territory, commonwealth, or independent nation; read his recent op-ed here. Both Bird and Howe agree many registrants probably thought they were signing up as plain "independent" voters. With open primaries now letting Alaskans vote in most races regardless of party, affiliation these days carries less practical weight. More here on the wild backstory of the party and founder Vogler, who vanished in 1993 and was later found murdered.