Senator Lisa Murkowski was finally, officially, declared the winner of the hotly contested senate seat in Alaska on Thursday. Murkowski, who waged a write-in campaign after being defeated in the primary by Tea Party Republican Joe Miller, was certified after weeks of legal battles. Miller had been challenging the results in court since Election Day, but ran out of options, allowing Murkowski to be sworn in with the rest of her peers next week. "It’s done," Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who oversees elections, said after penning his last signature in front of cameras in the governor’s office. The paperwork was expected to be hand delivered to Washington, D.C. to avoid any delays. Governor Sean Parnell was also present on Thursday for the event. "The voters have spoken. The courts have confirmed their voice," Parnell said. "We have certified and attested to Sen. Murkowski’s election, and I would look forward to her being sworn in the week ahead here."
Miller launched a federal lawsuit, contending that elections officials illegally accepted improperly marked write-in ballots that benefited Murkowski. The state law bans any ballot that does not include a candidate’s name as it appears on a declaration of candidacy, or simply the last name of the candidate. Alaskan election officials have accepted minor misspellings on write-in ballots. The first judge who ruled on the case, federal judge Ralph Beistline, determined that the state courts should review the case.
Beistline did block the state from certifying the results until the “serious” legal issues raised by Miller were resolved. Last week, the state Supreme Court ruled against Miller. In a 4-0 opinion, the court called voter intent “paramount” and upheld a lower court decision that refused to overturn election results favoring Murkowski. Miller, not one to be deterred, tried to take his case back to federal court. Judge Beistline refused to second-guess the state’s high court, rejected Miller’s claims, and revoked his order that the state hold off on certifying the results.
It is unclear what Miller plans on doing next. He could appeal Beistline’s decision, make a formal contest of the election results in state court, or give up. With certification, Lisa Murkowski becomes the first U.S. Senate candidate to win a write-in campaign since Strom Thurmond in 1954.
