Jail Vote

The inmate stays on the ballot:

The Alaska Democratic Party said its preferred candidate, Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), will be harmed if Hafner remains on the ballot, but Wheeles said that’s not true in part because Alaska uses a ranked-choice system in which voters can rank their choices. “Voters are able to accurately indicate their preferences under this system. If a voter votes only for Hafner, and does not rank other candidates, then the voter expressly asserts that they only want to vote for Hafner if no other ranking is indicated. Under this voting regime, no votes are diverted from one candidate to another, so no candidate is harmed,” the judge wrote in his 18-page decision. Removing Hafner at this stage, after some ballots have already been sent out, would also cause confusion, fear of fraud, and other harms to the public, the judge added. “In sum, an injunction threatens a successful administration of the election process, harming the defendants without adequate protection, while the plaintiffs face only minimal harm,” he said. “Most concerning to the court is the harm to the public and the integrity of the election, which would be truly irreparable.”

At least the candidate is an honest crook...