Judge rejects state request to stop signature gathering for elections initiative

Voters cast ballots in the Aug. 21, 2018, primary election at Glacier Valley Baptist Church in Juneau.
Voters cast ballots in the Aug. 21, 2018, primary election at Glacier Valley Baptist Church in Juneau. A judge rejected a request by the state to stop signature gathering for an initiative that would change the primary system. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/KTOO)

A judge rejected a request by the Alaska Department of Law to temporarily stop signature gathering for an initiative to overhaul the state’s election laws.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Yvonne Lamoureux ruled that the state hasn’t shown it would likely win an appeal of an earlier ruling.

She ruled on Monday that the signature gathering can start.

The initiative would require groups working to influence candidate elections to publicly disclose their donors. It also would change the state’s primary system and allow voters to rank the candidates in the general election.

The attorney general’s office plans to file an appeal of Lamoureux’s ruling on the initiative soon, according to a Department of Law spokesperson.

Andrew Kitchenman

State Government Reporter, Alaska Public Media & KTOO

State government plays an outsized role in the life of Alaskans. As the state continues to go through the painful process of deciding what its priorities are, I bring Alaskans to the scene of a government in transition.

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