ELECTION LAW
Supreme Court of Alaska (2025)
Drew Loughlin
In Medicine. Crow v. Beecher, 570 P.3d 452 (Alaska 2025), the Supreme Court of Alaska affirmed the superior court’s decision to certify a ballot initiative, which was challenged because of corrections made to circulators’ certifications of the petition booklets. (Id. at 453). The ballot initiative, which sought to end the system of ranked choice voting and open primaries, began gathering signatures in February 2023. (Id. at 454). In January 2024, the Division accepted 641 petitions but found errors with 64 of them; the sponsors resubmitted 62 of them and the Division approved the initiative to appear on the November ballot. (Id.). A month later, several Alaska residents challenged the division’s decision, arguing that the statutory scheme did not allow sponsors to cure petitions after their submission. (Id. at 455). The superior court granted summary judgment for the Division. (Id.). On appeal, the Supreme Court of Alaska concluded that the plain language of Alaska Statute 15.45.130 allows sponsors to correct certifications after the filing date. (Id. at 458). The Court added that a full replacement was still permissible as a “correction” under the statute. (Id. at 461). Finally, the Court noted that allowing a full replacement submission did not conflict with the legislative history of the statute or regulatory requirements. (Id. at 464–65). As a result, the Supreme Court of Alaska affirmed the superior court’s superior court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Division and the sponsors. (Id. at 466).
