Measure aimed at repealing Alaska’s ranked voting system still qualifies for ballot, officials say

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An initiative aimed at repealing Alaska’s ranked choice voting system still has sufficient signatures to qualify for the November ballot, attorneys for the state said in court filings Tuesday, days after a judge disqualified some of the booklets used to gather signatures.

Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin in a ruling last Friday found instances in which the signature-gathering process was not properly carried out and disqualified those booklets. She ordered elections officials to remove the disqualified signatures and booklets and to determine if the measure still had sufficient signatures.

Alaska Department of Law attorneys in court documents Tuesday said the Division of Elections had completed that work and found the measure “remains qualified” for the ballot.

This comes as part of a lawsuit brought by three voters challenging the repeal measure. Rankin last month ruled the division acted within its authority when it allowed sponsors of the repeal measure to fix errors with petition booklets after they were turned in and found the agency had complied with deadlines. Her ruling Friday focused on challenges to the initiative sponsors’ signature-collecting methods that were the subject of a recent trial.

Scott Kendall, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said once the judge enters a final judgment in the case, “we will consult with our clients and decide on next steps.”

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