A state court judge ruled Monday afternoon to move a lawsuit over the still-disputed U.S. Senate race from Fairbanks to Juneau.
Superior Court Judge Douglas Blankenship transferred the case to Alaska's capital city saying it's inconvenient for the state to be involved in a case in Fairbanks.
Senate candidate Joe Miller filed the lawsuit against the State of Alaska one week ago today to stop the Division of Elections from using discretion in determining voter intent with write-in ballots.
The state and the Murkowski campaign said the case should be held in Juneau, since that's where the Division of Elections counted the write-in ballots in Alaska's senate race.
Miller opposed moving the case from Fairbanks, which is where he lives.
His attorney said copies of any necessary material could be sent to Fairbanks, but the judge sided with the state. Miller says he respects that decision.
However, the judge did not rule on Sen. Murkowski's request to intervene in the case.
Murkowski's attorneys say if this issue is not resolved soon, it would impact the state because Murkowski must be sworn in Jan. 3.
That request was left for a Juneau judge to decide.
“It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to continue to delay this, especially since this is critical it's settled soon and the certification is done soon so that we avoid a situation where we don't have two senators sworn in on Jan. 3,” said Kevin Sweeney, Murkowski’s campaign manager.
“We want to make sure the process is protected not just for this election, but for future elections and we've been working expeditiously to make sure that happens,” Miller said.
Miller said he and his attorney will most likely not travel to Juneau for this case. They can participate by phone.
Contact Lori Tipton at ltipton@ktuu.com
