The Alaska Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the removal of Independent candidate Al Gross from the ballot was unjust.
Alaska’s highest court ruled in a 30-page opinion that the Alaska Division of Elections broke state law by removing Gross from the ballot during the state’s special election for the at-large congressional district last year.
Al Gross should have stayed on U.S. House ballot, Alaska Supreme Court says
— Alaskans For Honest Elections Bill 22AKHE (@907Honest) May 1, 2023
Justices concluded that the Alaska Division of Elections mishandled the withdrawal of the independent who sought to replace Don Younghttps://t.co/1YvzO3z8j3 pic.twitter.com/oUvOesjHsE
Gross finished third among 48 candidates in the race’s June primary before dropping out ahead of the special and general elections.
During the 2020 election, voters narrowly approved Ballot Measure 2, which established a top-four, ranked-choice voting (RCV) system in place of the state’s previous electoral system.
Voters rank candidates according to preference under the RCV. The last-place finisher is eliminated, and their votes are transferred to the voter’s second-choice candidate if no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes in the first round of voting. This process is repeated until one contender receives a majority of the votes.
Although candidates are allowed to resign prior to general elections, the Alaska Supreme Court states that the candidate’s “replacement on or removal from the ballot is subject to statutory and regulatory restrictions.” Under state law, a candidate desiring to withdraw from an election must also do so at least 64 days before the general election in order to be taken off the ballot.
Gross withdrew 57 days prior to the election, which should’ve kept his name on the ballot for the August special election because he did not withdraw within the allotted 64-day period. However, the Alaska Division of Elections withdrew Gross, making the field of candidates for the election merely three.
“Had the Division strictly followed the law, Dr. Gross’s name should have remained on the special general election ballot,” the Supreme Court said.
Gross quit the race after that deadline but expected the fifth-place finisher, Republican Tara Sweeney, would be promoted to fill his spot. He instead urged his supporters to support either Sweeney or Mary Peltola.
“There are two outstanding Alaska Native women in this race who would both serve our state well, and I encourage my supporters to stay engaged and consider giving their first-place vote to whichever of them best matches their own values. Thank you for your support,” he said in a statement last year.
