Presumed winner of the House District 27 race Democrat Liz Snyder has asked the court to eliminate some of her neighbors from a lawsuit they filed that is challenging the outcome of the election, where she is the apparent winner by 11 votes.
In a court filing, Snyder said Jeff Garness, Lisa Garness, Shannon Carte, Donald Crafts, Susan M. Kent-Crafts, and Carolyn “Care” Clift do not have standing to file an election contest.
Snyder said that there needs to be 10 people filing the challenge to the election, and that the lawsuit only has six.
Snyder wants Rep. Lance Pruitt, her opponent, to be the only one named on the challenge the group of six constituents is making.
It’s unclear why Snyder plans to spend money to remove constituents from the lawsuit. But it may make it easier for her legal team to personalize the lawsuit to Pruitt, making it more political in nature before the court. Alaska courts are generally more sympathetic to Democrats in political disputes.
At the same time, Snyder has filed a separate motion in the case to dismiss it entirely.
Oral argument in the case are scheduled for Jan. 8.
