Alaska Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a prisoner currently serving a sentence of 20 years can still be on the ballot for the U.S. House election in November.

A split court, with Justice Susan Carney’s dissension, issued a short order affirming a lower court decision in an Alaska Democratic Party case. The full opinion will be released at a later date.

Democrats filed a lawsuit against state election officials in order to remove Eric Hafner from the ballot. Hafner pleaded guilty to threats made in New Jersey in 2022, including to police officers, judges, and others.

Hafner is a Democrat who appears to have no ties with Alaska. He’s running in a closely-watched race against Republican Nick Begich and Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola. Hafner listed his mailing address as a federal jail in New York on his declaration of candidacy.

Dems Would Rather Forget Here we are, 23 years after 9/11/2001, and it seems like we’re doomed to repeat history, thanks to Kamala and the Democrat’s disastrous policies like the wide-open border and a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. I’m Lt. Gen. Jack Bergman. We must remain vigilant in defeating anyone who seeks to do harm to this great nation. Join me so we can defend our homeland together. 1776 Coalition Sponsored

Alaska has an open primary system where voters choose one candidate for each race. The top four candidates advance to the general elections. Hafner placed sixth in the primaries but was added to the ballot for the general election after Republicans Lt. Governor. Nancy Dahlstrom, who finished third, and Matthew Salisbury (who placed fourth) withdrew.

John Wayne Howe of the Alaskan Independence Party also qualified.

Alaska Democrats’ attorneys argued there was no law that allowed the sixth-place finisher in the race to advance. Attorneys from the state countered that this interpretation was too narrow.