Democratic candidate Eric Hafner on the ballot in Alaska to compete for one of the state’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He is competing against the incumbent Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola.
Seems like a pretty cut-and-dry primary, right?
There’s just one problem.
Hafter is currently serving a 20-year sentence in a New York federal prison for threatening elected officials and making false bomb threats.
So how in the world did a jailed convict get on the ballot?
Turns out, it’s due to a technicality under current Alaska voting laws.
Here’s exactly how this unraveled.
According to the Daily Caller, current, incumbent Rep. Peltola was originally up against Republican candidates Nick Begich and Nancy Dahlstrom after Alaska held its ranked-choice primary in August.
Hafner, who has never lived in Alaska, originally finished in sixth place in the state’s primary with less than 500 votes, but was bumped up to third place after Republican candidates Dahlstrom and Matthew Salisbury dropped out of the race.
However, Alaska’s ranked-choice voting (RCV) primary system that was adopted in 2020 and allows voters to order candidates on the ballot by preference, with the four top candidates advancing.
Hafner received less than 1% of the vote in the primary, but because the margin between Begich and Peltola is expected to be slim, he slid into the fourth slot.
The Alaska Democratic Party sued the Alaska Division of Elections last week for allowing Hafner on the ballot, arguing that he was ineligible under state law and the U.S. Constitution.
But, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Ian Wheeles dismissed the case last Tuesday, giving Hafner ballot access.
Realistically, Hafner has no chance of actually winning. But the fact that he is still able to be on the ballot despite being behind bars is outrageous.
“The situation that has unfolded is a direct result of ranked choice voting which Nick Begich has consistently spoken out against,” Bernadette Wilson, senior advisor for Begich’s campaign, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Fortunately, Alaskans will have the opportunity to undo this convoluted system in November. In the meantime, we look forward to having a robust discussion on the failed policies of the Biden administration which Mary Peltola has unequivocally supported as congresswoman.”
Peltola benefited from the RCV to defeat former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin by just 9% in 2022.
During that election, Peltola only got 39.7%, while the remaining votes were split between Palin, who brought in 30.9%, and Begich, who got 27.8%.
“We’re disappointed by the judge’s ruling but remain confident Peltola will win in Nov.,” Democratic Party Executive Director Lindsay Kavanaugh said in a statement. “Unlike the Republican Party, we don’t have to scheme to win by asking candidates to drop out until a convicted felon gets on the general election ballot who received less than half a percentage of the votes cast during the primary. We have more respect than that for voters in Alaska; clearly, our candidates are more viable than theirs.”