The judge ruled that removing Hafner from the ballot would cause significant harm to the division of elections and the public. The division would have to reprint ballots, which would cause it to miss state and federal deadlines for ballot printing. Via Alaska's News Source:
A man who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in federal prison for threatening elected officials in New Jersey has been determined eligible for November’s general election ballot for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat.
On Tuesday, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Ian Wheeles dismissed the lawsuit brought forth by the Alaska Democratic Party to remove Democrat Eric Hafner from the ballot. With the dismissal, Hafner will run for the U.S. House seat against incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola, Republican Nick Begich, and Alaska Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe.
The plaintiffs argued that Hafner running as a Democrat would confuse voters and -- they say -- cause harm to the Democrats by associating the party with a convicted felon.
Hafner, who previously ran for a congressional seat in Oregon while he was on the run, made credible threats to a judge and attorneys who worked against him in a Family Court case in New Jersey. Apparently he believes he will be released from prison if he wins.
