Alyse Galvin has lost again. This time, in court against the Alaska Division of Elections.
When the Division of Elections decided congressional candidate Galvin would be listed as a Democratic Party candidate on the General Election ballot in November, 2020, Galvin objected. She identified as an “independent,” wanted to be listed as an independent, and said it wasn’t fair to have a “D” next to her name.
But there was a problem: She was the Alaska Democratic Party’s official nominee.
She sued. Galvin, who was running for Congress for the second time against Congressman Don Young, sought to stop the Division of Elections from printing and mailing the General Election ballots, saying the ballot design harmed her as a candidate. Her lawsuit didn’t work at the Superior Court, and the election proceeded, with the ballot as designed by the Division of Elections. She appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court.
Galvin was a new breed of shape-shifting Democrat in Alaska who has registered as nonpartisan or undeclared, since in a conservative state like Alaska, Democrats don’t do well running in their own party.
On Friday, the Alaska Supreme Court issued a decision in that lawsuit that, while it didn’t say the State Division of Elections made the right decision putting a D next to Galvin’s name, acknowledged that the division used its best discretion, and agreed with the Superior Court ruling that the injunction Galvin had sought would have jeopardized the prospects of a successful and timely election.
“The superior court did not abuse its discretion by denying Galvin’s requested preliminary injunction because granting the injunction could have imperiled the public interest in an orderly and timely election,” the court wrote.
