Opinion ID: 2600337
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Division's Role in the Process

Text: Under Alaska law, the director of the Division of Elections has a duty to provide general administrative supervision over state elections. [25] This general duty encompasses the duty to supervise judicial retention elections. Each judge seeking retention must pay a filing fee and file a declaration of candidacy with the Division by August 1 of the year in which the election will be held. [26] Apart from requiring judges to designate the judicial district in which retention is sought, the Election Code does not prescribe any particular form for the declaration or specify what information it must contain. [27] The Division has adopted a declaration form for retention elections that requires judges to provide contact information and to have their signatures notarized. As recognized in today's opinion, the Division does not demand strict adherence to this declaration form; but it does require, at a minimum, that the declaration contain a personal, affirmative declaration of the judge to be a candidate. [28] Once a declaration is properly filed, the Division must place the judge's name on the retention ballot; [29] the Division must also include the judge in the Election Pamphlet, along with the Council's evaluation and recommendation on retention. [30]