Anchorage Republican Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux was charged by state prosecutors Friday with voter misconduct and unlawful interference with voting.
LeDoux was in a House floor session in Juneau while prosecutors announced the charges at a press conference in Anchorage.
The charges stem from an investigation into irregularities in the 2018 Republican House primary.
Five days before that primary election, the state Division of Elections told Alaska State Troopers that there appeared to be irregularities with absentee ballot applications in LeDoux’s district, according to the charging document. The troopers’ investigation led to more than 25 search warrants over the next several months.
The warrants led to text messages to and from LeDoux and others, including her former chief of staff Lisa M. Simpson, that raised concerns.
Prosecutors say LeDoux texted people to vote in her district in 2014, even after they told her they no longer lived in the district.
LeDoux won the election by 117 votes over Aaron Weaver.
Simpson and her adult son Caden C. Vaught were charged with various crimes in connection with the incident.
Prosecutors say they’ve served LeDoux a summons.
The charges will go to a grand jury, which will determine whether to proceed.
Andrew Kitchenman is the state government and politics reporter for Alaska Public Media and KTOO in Juneau. Reach him at akitchenman@alaskapublic.org.
