Federal Prisoner Will Appear on Alaska Congressional Ballot
On September 10, 2024, an Alaska court refused to keep Eric G. Hafner from appearing on the upcoming November ballot as a Democratic candidate for the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives—even though he has never been to Alaska and is currently incarcerated by the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York.
Hafner, 33, was sentenced to a 20-year prison term in December 2023 for sending bomb threats to various New Jersey officials, trying to extort $350,000 from them. See: United States v. Hafner, USDC (D.N.J.), Case No. 3:19-cr-00790. He filed for Alaska’s August 2024 primary but collected just 467 votes for one of four spots on the ballot for the seat in the House, coming in sixth. However, two Republican candidates ranked ahead of him dropped out, hoping to consolidate support behind Nick Begich, the remaining GOP candidate to replace incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola (D). That elevated Hafner to the ballot.
Worried that even a few votes might tip the election to Begich, the state Democratic party sued Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, seeking to force removal of Hafner’s name from the ballot. The prisoner’s out-of-state incarceration, Plaintiffs argued, left him no chance of establishing residency before the election. For his part, Hafner told news outlets—he was not a party to the lawsuit—that he hoped to secure BOP’s compassionate release if elected so that he could move to the state.
In his ruling, Superior Court Judge Ian Wheeles said that the Constitution requires establishing residency before taking office, not before an election. Moreover, ballots had already been printed, so removing Hafner’s name would subject the state to harm he called “not insignificant.” He therefore rejected the request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. See: Alaska Dem. Party v. Beecher, Alaska Super. (3rd Jud. Dist.), Case No. 3AN-24-08665CI. State court judge is a nonpartisan position, though Wheeles, 41, was appointed to the bench by state Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) in June 2022.
Additional source: NPR News
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