Alaska voters keep all 19 state judges up for election

All 19 of Alaska’s state judges are up for election this cycle, including the judge who faces a campaign to unseat him over his controversial home-schooling decision, leading in bids to remain on the state bench.

Voters so far approve of Anchorage Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman. the thinnest margin53 percent voted for him to remain in office, meaning he will serve another six years on the bench.

Zeman was the only judge on this year’s ballot to face an organized impeachment campaign.

The campaign follows his decision that the state has a correspondence school system. violated a provision of the state constitution This prohibits public money from being used to benefit private or religious schools, as some parents use the system to subsidize private school tuition. The decision was scheduled to go into effect before the Alaska Supreme Court in July. set aside for technical reasonssaying that school districts are necessary parties to the case and I sent it back to the lower court.

Although the decision did not go into effect, it prompted two conservative groups (Alaska Family Action and the local chapter of Moms for Liberty) to make the decision. organize a campaign We urge voters in southcentral Alaska to oust Zeman.

It is extremely rare for voters to remove judges from the bench. In the history of the state only six Judges were dismissed in retention elections. But approval from state judges fell to record lows: In 2022, 19 of the 20 justices running for office won with less than 60% of the vote.

This year, the Alaska Judicial Council, the independent commission that selects candidates for the panel. He recommended that all judges, including Zeman, be kept in office It is based on performance evaluations that include feedback from attorneys, jurors, and others who interact with the court system.

View full election results Here. Additional votes will be counted in the coming days and weeks.