The chairman of the Alaska State Human Rights Commission on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer and the Alaska Division of Elections, seeking to suspend special primary elections. underway in the United States House.
According to plaintiff Robert Corbisier, the election — Alaska’s first statewide vote conducted entirely by mail — discriminates against “visually impaired voters,” those considered blind or with vision impairment.
The Anchorage Daily News first reported the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed in Anchorage Superior Court, asks a judge to prevent the state from certifying the results of the special election “until Alaska’s visually impaired voters have a full and fair opportunity to participate in this election.
Election day is June 11, final results are expected June 21, and election officials said they plan to certify the results by June 25.
The four candidates who receive the most votes in the primary will qualify for a special general election on August 16, where a winner will be chosen in a ranking vote.
The winner of that vote will remain in office until the winner of the November general election is elected to Congress early next year.
The Division of Elections has yet to respond to the lawsuit, and the court system has scheduled it for expedited review.
