AK-AL: Alaska judge halts printing of ballots that removed candidates' independent status
A judge in Alaska ordered the state to stop printing ballots Thursday, the day before they were scheduled to start going out in the mail, amid a dispute over a last-minute change that Democrats said created a disadvantage to Senate and House nominees Al Gross and Alyse Galvin.
At issue is a decision by the Republican-appointed director of the state Division of Elections, Gail Fenumiai, to strip party affiliations from the November ballot, instead including only the party that the candidate represents as the nominee.
That decision would disproportionately impact Gross and Galvin, who are waging two of the most competitive challenges to Republican incumbents the state has seen in decades
Both are independents who caucus with Democrats and were identified as nonpartisans on the August primary ballots. They have made their lack of party allegiance a central selling point in a state where voters pride themselves on individualism. Gross, an orthopedic surgeon and commercial fisherman, is running for Senate, while Galvin, an education advocate, is running for the House.
The temporary restraining order was issued Thursday in response to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Galvins campaign. It will last until a hearing on Friday, according to court records.
https://rollcall.com/2020/09/17/judge-in-alaska-halts-printing-ballots-that-removed-candidates-independent-status/