New York inmate serving 20-year sentence allowed to run for office in Alaska

A man currently serving a 20-year sentence in New York is allowed to run for office in Alaska and will appear on the ballot this upcoming election, thanks to a new ruling.

A lawsuit by the Alaska Democratic Party to remove Democrat Eric Hafner from the ballot was dismissed by Anchorage Supreme Court Judge Ian Wheeles, stating that the state's ranked-choice voting system "neutralizes" harm, as reported by KTUU-TV.

Hafner, who has never lived in Alaska, is running for the lone U.S. House seat opening on Alaska's general election ballot in November. He is running against incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola, Republican Nick Begich and Alaska Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe.

The judge added that removing Hafner from the ballot would also mean that the state would have to reprint the ballots, causing them to potentially miss state and federal deadlines. He also ruled that the "Democrat" affiliation belongs to the people, not the party.

Hafner is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in New York for harassing New Jersey election officials, as reported by Anchorage Daily News.

Federal law allows candidates to run for office in states where they do not reside so long as they have a plan to move there if they are elected. The Alaska Democratic Party argued that Hafner was ineligible because he would be unable to move due to his sentence.

Hafner did not initially make it onto the Alaska ballot due to the state's top-four primary system. He came in sixth. However, the third and fourth place candidates, both Republicans, dropped out after primary votes were counted, moving Hafner and the fifth place candidate onto the ballot.

While the statute has explicitly stated rules about moving up the fifth place candidate, it does not mention anything about sixth place. However, Assistant Attorney General Jessie Alloway told Anchorage Daily News that when voters adopted the four-place system in 2020, they "wanted more choice, not less."