Alaska Courts Deny Alaska Democratic Party’S Attempt To Oust Incarcerated Candidate From Ballot

A judge in Alaska has denied a request by the Alaska Democratic Party to expel a Democratic candidate who is currently in prison from the November ballot. This ruling was later upheld by the Alaska Supreme Court.

On September 10th, Superior Court Judge Ian Wheeles stated that the party did not provide sufficient evidence to support a restraining order and injunction that would require Alaska officials to remove Eric Hafner from the ballot. Hafner is currently imprisoned in New York.

The Alaska Democratic Party argued that their preferred candidate, Rep. Mary Peltola, would be harmed if Hafner remains on the ballot. However, Judge Wheeles ruled that this claim is not true, partly because Alaska uses a ranked-choice voting system where voters can rank the candidates.

Judge Wheeles also highlighted the potential confusion, fear of fraud, and harm to the public that removing Hafner from the ballot at this stage would cause. Some ballots have already been sent out, and interfering with the election process through an injunction could have a negative impact on the integrity of the election.

Regarding the primary results, Hafner received 0.43 percent of the vote, placing him sixth in the race. Peltola, on the other hand, received 50.9 percent of the vote. Alaskas system dictates that the top four vote-getters advance from the primary, and since two candidates who finished ahead of Hafner withdrew, he was placed on the ballot.

Although the U.S. Constitution states that U.S. representatives must be residents of the state they are elected in, Judge Wheeles pointed out that this does not prevent Hafner from being a candidate. He clarified that there is no legal requirement for Hafner to reside in Alaska currently or at any time in the past or future before being elected to office.

In December 2023, Hafner was sentenced to 20 years in prison for making bomb threats to elected officials, police, and others. The full opinion explaining the court’s decision will be released at a later date.

The majority opinion was supported by Chief Justice Peter Maassen and Justices Dario Borghesan, Jennifer Henderson, and Jude Pate. Justice Susan Carney dissented, but no reason for her dissent was provided.

In response to the lawsuit, Alaska Solicitor General Jessie Alloway and other officials who opposed the case expressed their gratitude to the Alaska Supreme Court for preventing any disruption to the election.