GOVERNMENT Supreme Court of Alaska (2023) Allyson Barkley In Matter of 2021 Redistricting Cases, 528 P.3d 40 (Alaska 2023), the supreme court determined the Alaska Redistricting Board’s (the “Board”) state districts to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered. (Id. at 102). After the 2020 Census results were released, the Board created a redistricting plan. (Id. at 61). It Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2023) Sarah Edwards In Guerin v. State, 537 P.3d 770 (Alaska 2023), the supreme court held that the Division of Elections (“Division”) properly applied a 64-day time limit for candidate replacement, which prevented the inclusion of the fifth-place candidate on a special general election ballot, and that this exclusion Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAWSupreme Court of Alaska (2022)Alex BartlowIn State, Office of the Lieutenant Governor v. Corbisier, 522 P.3d 174 (Alaska 2022), the supremecourt reversed the lower court’s grant of a preliminary injunction preventing the Alaska Divisionof Elections from certifying election results, holding that the lower court erred in failing to considerthe general public’s interest in an Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAWUnited States District Court, District of Alaska (2022)Kristiana OlsonIn Smith v. Helzer, 2022 WL 2757421 (D. Alaska 2022), the district court denied a request toenjoin the enforcement provisions requiring disclosures for political donations. (Id. at *14). In2020, Alaskans enacted changes to the election system by ballot measure, including additionalcampaign finance disclosures. (Id. at *1). Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAWSupreme Court of Alaska (2022)Sarah BrooksIn Kohlhaas v. State, 518 P.3d 1095 (Alaska 2022), the supreme court upheld the constitutionalityof both open primaries and ranked choice voting for general elections approved by a ballotinitiative, Initiative 2. (Id. at 1100–01). Kohlhaas argued that Initiative 2 violated free speechrights by allowing candidates to identify with a Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAW, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW Margot Graham In Alaska Public Offices Commission v. Patrick, 494 P.3d 53 (Alaska 2021), the Alaska Supreme Court held that statutory contribution limits are unconstitutional in the context of independent expenditure groups (Id. at 60). Individual plaintiffs filed complaints with the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC), alleging that to independent expenditure Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAW Sloane Bessey In State v. Galvin, 491 P.3d 325 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that when a preliminary injunction threatens the success of an election it should be denied to protect the public interest. (Id. at 339–40). Prior to the November 2020 general election, the Division of Elections (the Division) made the Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAW Clara Nieman In State, Office of Lieutenant Governor v. Recall Dunleavy, 491 P.3d 343 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that (1) recall petitions are subject to a notice pleading standard and (2) a petition to recall the governor met that liberal standard. (Id. at 357, 372). Recall Dunleavy filed a recall application Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAW Sloane Bessey In State, Office of the Lieutenant Governor v. Arctic Village Council, 495 P.3d 313 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the health concerns of the pandemic outweighed the State interests behind the witness requirement for absentee ballots in elections. (Id. at 325–26). There is an Alaska statute that requires that Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAW Margot Graham In Resource Development Council for Alaska, Inc. v. Vote Yes for Alaska’s Fair Share, 494 P.3d 541 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the statute setting the petition circulator compensation at $1 per signature was unconstitutional and, thus, the lieutenant governor properly certified the petitions collected by Vote Yes for Continue Reading »
