Alaska Employment Law

The 9th Circuit has affirmed U. S. District Judge Timothy Burgess’s refusal to declare Alaska’s primary election laws unconstitutional.  This case is among the last that was argued before the August 2008 panel in Anchorage. 

Judge Raymond Fisher, for the uananimous panel, summarized:

Alaska requires political parties to nominate candidates for the state’s general election ballot in a state-run primary, in which any registered member of a political party may seek the party’s nomination. Nominees are then chosen by the vote of party-affiliated voters and any other voters whom the parties choose to let participate. The Alaska Independence Party (“AIP”) and the Alaska Libertarian Party (“ALP”) contend that these laws burden their associational rights in violation of the First Amendment because they force them to associate with candidates who, they claim, are not members of their party or are not ideologically compatible with the party. We hold that Alaska’s primary system is justified by compelling state interests and is therefore facially constitutional.

Alaska Independence Party v. State of Alaska, 2008 WL _______ (9th Cir. Oct. 6, 2008)

Ken Jacobus represented the AIP.  AAG  Michael Barnhill represented the State.