The initiative, referendum and recall procedures appear in Article XI of our Constitution, Alaska Election Law under AS 15.45.010 - 15.45.720 and the Alaska Administrative Code under 6 AAC 25.240 and 245. The following information summarizes the statutes and regulations.

This information should not be considered a substitute for reading the statutes and regulations in their entirety.

A referendum is proposed by filing an application with the Lieutenant Governor in the same manner as an initiative is proposed. A form is available at the Division of Elections offices and on the Division's web site. A deposit of $100 must accompany the application. The money will be refunded if the petition is properly filed and retained if the petition is improperly filed. (A referendum petition is considered properly filed if the Lieutenant Governor certifies the petition for the ballot.) [Ref. AS 15.45.260]

In addition to the deposit, the application must include:

1. the designation, names, signatures, mailing addresses, and numerical identifiers of three prime sponsors with a statement saying they are the referendum committee representing all sponsors of the referendum. They must be properly registered voters.
2. the printed name, signature, addresses, and a numerical identifier of not fewer than 100 properly registered voters who will serve as sponsors. Their names must be attached to the application statement. The three referendum committee sponsors must also sign as a qualified registered voter on the signature page.
   (Note: Each page of signatures must include a statement saying that the sponsors are qualified voters who signed the application with the proposed bill attached.)
3. the act (i.e., law) to be referred, attached to the application form
   [Ref. AS 15.45.270]

The Lieutenant Governor must review the application within seven calendar days after it has been received. After the Department of Law issues an opinion on content, the Lieutenant Governor either certifies the application or denies certification. In either case, the referendum committee is advised of the decision. [Ref. AS 15.45.300]

The Lieutenant Governor denies certification if:

1. the application is not substantially in the required form;
2. there is an insufficient number of qualified sponsors; or
3. more than 90 days have expired since the adjournment of the legislative session at which the referred act was passed.
   [Ref. AS 15.45.310]

If the application is certified, the petition booklets will be prepared within seven calendar days. The Division of Elections is responsible for printing 500 booklets and the initial distribution of the booklets to the prime sponsors. The prime sponsors distribute petition booklets to persons who will circulate the petition and gather the required signatures of registered voters. The booklets will contain:

1. a copy of the Act to be referred (if 500 words or less);
2. the statement of approval or rejection;
3. an impartial summary of the subject matter of the act;
4. a statement of minimum costs to the state associated with certification of the initiative application and review of the initiative petition, excluding legal costs to the state and the costs to the state of any challenge to the validity of the petition;


5. an estimate of the cost to the state of voter approval or rejection of the act;
6. a statement of warning as prescribed in AS 15.45.330;
7. sufficient space for the printed name, a numerical identifier, the signature, the date of signature, and the address of each person signing the petition; and
8. other specifications prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor.
   [Ref. AS 15.45.320]

Qualified voters who sign the application are designated as sponsors, who may or may not circulate the petition. The initiative committee may designate additional circulators by giving their names and addresses in written notice to the Lieutenant Governor. [Ref. AS 15.45.060] If circulators designated by the initiative committee are not registered voters, they must sign a certificate of Alaska residency available from the Division of Elections. Circulators must be 18 or older and a U.S. citizen.

Petition circulators may not receive payment greater than $1 a signature, and a person or organization may not pay an amount greater than $1 a signature for collecting signatures on a petition. Additionally, a person or organization may not pay someone to sign or refrain from signing a petition. Anyone who violates this section of the law is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. [Ref. AS 15.45.110]

Before a referendum petition is filed, each petition booklet must be certified by an affidavit from the sponsor who circulated the petition. This affidavit states:

1. the person signing the affidavit is a citizen, 18 years old or older who has been a resident of Alaska for 30 days;
2. the person is the only circulator of the petition booklet;
3. the signatures were made in the circulator's presence; and
4. the signatures, to the best of the circulator's knowledge, are those of the persons whose names are signed.
   
5. that, to the best of the circulators knowledge, the signatures are of persons who were qualified voters on the date of signature;
6. that the circulator has not entered into an agreement with a person or organization in violation of AS 15.45.340(b);
7. that the circulator has not violated AS 15.45.340(c) with respect to that petition; and


8. whether the circulator has received payment or has agreed to receive payment for collecting signatures
[Ref. AS 15.45.360]

The sponsors must file the petition within 90 days after the adjournment of the legislative session at which the Act was passed. [Ref. AS 15.45.370]

The petition must be signed by qualified voters:

1. equal in number to 10 percent of those who voted in the preceding general election (31,451 needed until the 2006 general election);


2. resident in at least three-fourths of the house districts of the state; and

3. who, in each of the house districts described in (2) of this subsection, are equal in number to at least seven percent of those who voted in the preceding general election in the house district.
   For the amount needed in each house district, click here.

A referendum is improperly filed if:

1. there is an insufficient number of signatures of qualified signers;
2. the signers did not reside in at least three-quarters of the house districts of the state; or
3. the petition was not filed within 90 days after the adjournment of the legislative session at which the Act was passed.
   [Ref. AS 15.45.390]

	How to Vote Voting Absentee Where to Vote Election Schedule Election Returns Current Candidates Filing for Office District Maps Polling Places Ballot Measures Initiative, Referendum & Recall Publications Lieutenant Governor