U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller has appealed his election case to the Alaska Supreme Court.
He had until noon Monday to give notice of an appeal with the state's highest court over aspects of the Nov. 2 election results he continues to dispute. On Friday, a lower court judge ruled against Miller on every count. The decision maintained Murkowski's sizeable lead -- more than 10,000 votes -- over the Republican Senate hopeful, who's received backing from the national tea party movement.
On Friday, the same day Alaska Superior Court Judge William Carey ruled against Miller, the Alaska Supreme court set a speedy schedule in anticipation that the case would come its way.
The Supreme Court will hold oral arguments in the case Friday afternoon.
In a
issued Monday afternoon, candidate Miller accused the judge of "essentially modifying state law," contending that prior to Friday's ruling, Alaska elections law required write-in ballots had to exactly match a candidate's declaration of candidacy.
"... But now, after Judge Carey's ruling, such ballots will be counted as long as an unelected bureaucrat believes he or she can determine or guess what a voter intended," Miller said.
The "unelected bureaucrats" Miller refers to, presumably, are Alaska residents working under the state's Division of Elections, which is overseen by the office of the lieutenant governor.
Meanwhile, the state is also looking to fast-track a similar but separate election case filed by Miller in federal court.
Last month, a federal judge ordered the state to hold off on certifying the results of the Alaska's U.S. Senate race until the state courts had a chance to hear and rule on Miller's claims that the election count was conducted in a manner favoring the write-in independent candidate, Murkowski, and on his allegations of illegal voting and misconduct by election workers.
Judge Carey ruled Friday that the count was fairly conducted within the bounds of the law and that the candidate had presented no evidence of wrongdoing. Even if he had, the judge ruled, none of it would have been great enough to change the outcome.
The State of Alaska and its Division of Elections would like the federal court to address any lingering issues between now and the start of the new year, essentially book-ending the Christmas holiday with election-related matters.
A briefing schedule was proposed last week by the state leading up to Christmas Eve, a Friday, and suggests scheduling a hearing, should one be necessary, the week of Dec. 27, urging a decision by New Year's Eve, Friday, Dec. 31.