Ian Wheeles
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2022 - Present
2026
3
Ian Wheeles is a judge of the Alaska Third District Superior Court. He assumed office on June 16, 2022. His current term ends in 2026.
He was appointed to the court on June 16, 2022 by Mike Dunleavy (R) to replace Gregory Miller.
Noteworthy cases
Federal prisoner ruled ballot eligible (2024)
- See also: Alaska Third District (Alaska Democratic Party and Anita Thorne v. Director Carol Beecher, 3AN-24-08665CI)
- See also: Alaska Third District (Alaska Democratic Party and Anita Thorne v. Director Carol Beecher, 3AN-24-08665CI)
On September 10, 2024, Judge Ian Wheeles dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Alaska Democratic Party (ADP) to remove Eric Hafner (D), a candidate to represent Alaska's at-large congressional district, from the ballot. At the time of the lawsuit, Hafner was serving a 20-year sentence at a federal prison in New York for threatening elected officials, and he was set to be released in 2036.[1][2]
The ADP argued that since Alaskan ranked-choice voting law dictates that if a top four candidate withdraws, the fifth place candidate will take the spot, having a sixth place candidate like Hafner make it on to the ballot is unprecedented and illegal. Nancy Dahlstrom (R) and Matthew Salisbury (R) both withdrew after making the top four which granted John Howe and Hafner spots on the ballot. The ADP also argued that Hafner is ineligible as the Constitution requires that a candidate for U.S. House must be “an inhabitant of that State” by the time they are elected.[1][2]
The state argued that if the Division of Elections was required to stop printing ballots and print new ones without Hafner, it would likely incur significant costs and they would risk missing state and federal ballot deadlines. They also argued that the ADP was seeking to remove Hafner in order to further advance the candidate they had endorsed, Mary Peltola (D). Prior to Dahlstrom and Salisbury withdrawing, Peltola was going to be the only Democrat on the ballot.[1][2]
In his opinion, Judge Ian Wheeles ruled that ranked-choice voting allows each vote to rank however they choose therefore eliminating any potential claim of harm. He also ruled that the court could not weigh in on the probability of Hafner residing in Alaska by Election Day. Finally, in reference to the Alaskan voting statute, Wheeles ruled that the language used is meant to be an example of the ballot filling process when a candidate withdraws and it is not limited to only fifth place moving up only.[1][2]
See also
Alaska Third District Courts in Alaska
External links
Footnotes
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Alaska • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Alaska
State courts:
Alaska Supreme Court • Alaska Court of Appeals • Alaska Superior Court • Alaska District Court
State resources:
Courts in Alaska • Alaska judicial elections • Judicial selection in Alaska
