state elections

Judge Finds for Incumbent in Alaska Primary Election Dispute

Sarah M Donnelly

Download(PDF): Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in the matter of Nageak et al v. Mallot et al (Anchorage Oct. 6 2016).

Link: Judge overturns results in northern Alaska election, declaring Nageak the winner by Nathaniel Herz from Alaska Dispatch News.

A Superior Court Judge ruled in an incumbent’s favor after finding illegal double balloting in Alaska’s August primary.  Untrained election officials in the Native Village of Shungnak gave voters both Republican and Democratic ballots. A dozen votes were then disqualified after the court determined voters would have chosen the Republican ballot given their voter history.  Two ballots were disqualified in the Native Village of Kivalina under similar circumstances.

The result was a victory for the incumbent, Rep. Ben Nageak from Barrow, who secures his seat in Alaska’s House by virtue of no Republican candidate on November’s general election ballot.

From the article:

Nageak follows a Bush-Democrat tradition of caucusing with the House’s Republican-led majority, while Westlake has said he will likely caucus with urban Democrats if he wins — even if that puts him in the minority.

The challenger, Dean Westlake from Kotzebue, was originally declared the winner by four votes. A recount had him winning by eight votes. The Superior Court Judge found Negeak won by two votes.  Defendants appealed to Alaska’s Supreme Court and arguments are set for next week.

N.Y. Oneida Employees Targeting Anti-Tribal Legislators in Upcoming Election

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Utica Observer-Dispatch via Pechanga:

A group of Oneida Indian Nation employees is launching a get out the vote effort for Tuesday’s elections, and they are targeting an Oneida county legislator who has opposed the Nation on numerous issues.

“There has been a lot of opposition in my community against the Nation, which is my employer,” said Kelli Bradley, a legal administrator for the Nation. “I would like to have someone put into office who is willing to work with us and make things better.”

Her legislator is Democratic Majority Leader Michael Hennessy of Sherrill.

Hennessy has been vocal in his opposition to the Nation on issues ranging from taxation to sovereignty.

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Goldsmith on the Agua Caliente State Election Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Gary Goldsmith has published “Big Spenders in State Elections–Has Financial Participation by Indian Tribes Defined the Limits of Tribal Sovereign Immunity From Suit” in the William Mitchell Law Review.

From the introduction:

In every election cycle, Indian tribes vigorously attempt to influence such critical matters of state governance as to who will be the state’s governor, who will be elected to the state’s legislative bodies, and what will be the provisions of the state’s constitution. These incursions into the realm of state governance have renewed questions about the sovereignty of Indian tribes in relation to the states’ sovereignty.
In order to understand those conflicting rights, this article will review the historical roots of legal doctrine regarding the position of Indian tribes with respect to the United States government and each state’s government. It will then trace significant doctrinal changes that arose as the result of changing political and cultural attitudes toward Indians. Finally, it will address new theories raised in Agua Caliente v. California FPPC and will comment on the California Supreme Court’s resolution of the constitutional issues and the parties’ eventual Stipulation for Judgment in that matter.