By SUZANNE DOWNING
Nearly eight years after alleged voter misconduct occurred, the criminal case against former Anchorage legislator Gabrielle LeDoux remains unresolved, an outcome that has tests the credibility of the court system and shows just how easily a seasoned attorney and former lawmaker can extract delay after delay. Despite multiple trial dates, a mistrial, and more than a dozen trial-setting conferences in 2025 alone, the case of the State of Alaska against Gabrielle LeDoux has languished.
No retrial date has scheduled following a mistrial last winter and 12 trial-setting conferences occurred throughout 2025 that failed to move the case forward.
LeDoux, a former Democrat-turned-Republican who represented East Anchorage’s House District 15, was accused of encouraging individuals who did not live in her district to register and vote for her during the 2018 primary and general elections. The alleged misconduct centered on absentee ballots and voter registrations in the immigrant Hmong community, which drew scrutiny after numerous voters were registered at a single small trailer.
The Alaska Division of Elections, Alaska State Troopers, and the FBI investigated the allegations.
Initial charges were filed in March 2020 against LeDoux and two associates: campaign aide Lisa Simpson Vaught and her son, Caden Vaught. Prosecutors alleged voter misconduct and unlawful interference with voting connected to both the 2014 and 2018 elections.
In June 2021, an Anchorage grand jury indicted LeDoux and her co-defendants on multiple counts. Charges related to earlier 2014 election were later dismissed after a judge ruled they were barred by the statute of limitations, leaving the case focused solely on the 2018 election.
From 2020 through 2024, the case was repeatedly delayed due to a combination of factors, including the Covid-19 pandemic, pretrial motions, evidentiary disputes, and scheduling issues. Trial dates set for July 2022, November 2023, and July 2024 were all postponed. In July 2024, the trial was delayed again after prosecutors submitted evidence late.
The case finally went to trial in Anchorage Superior Court from Nov. 18 to Nov. 27, 2024, before Judge Kevin Saxby. The nine-day trial included testimony from LeDoux as well as from Lisa Vaught and Caden Vaught, who had already pleaded guilty to misdemeanor offenses and testified for the state.
LeDoux faced 12 charges, including five Class C felonies tied to alleged interference with voting in the 2018 election.
On Dec. 2, 2024, the jury reported it was deadlocked on all counts. Judge Saxby declared a mistrial.
In January 2025, the Alaska Department of Law announced it intended to retry the case, stating prosecutors believed sufficient evidence existed to proceed.
Despite the state’s stated intent to retry, no retrial date was set in 2025. Court records show a succession of trial-setting conferences and status hearings throughout the year, many of them continued at the request of the defense, with at least one continuance requested by the state.
Between January and December 2025, the case appeared on the Anchorage Superior Court calendar more than a dozen times for trial-setting conferences. Judges repeatedly continued or reset the hearings without scheduling a trial. Early in 2025, the case was reassigned from Judge Saxby to Judge Josie Garton.
The most recent trial-setting conference was held Dec. 8, 2025, and the next is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2026.
As of Dec. 30, 2025, the case remains pending. Still no retrial date has been set.
LeDoux, now 77, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and continues to maintain her innocence. LeDoux was a leader in the Musk Ox caucus of Republicans who turned their backs on their caucus and formed an alliance with Democrats to flip control of the House.
What began as an election-integrity investigation in 2018 has now stretched across three election cycles, multiple judges, a mistrial, and years of delays, with no clear end in sight. It’s now become an indictment of the justice system in Alaska.
5 thoughts on “Year in review: LeDoux trial drags on into sixth year, with still no trial date in sight”
This is why people are inclined to just give up. Alaska is a mess!
Find out who is protecting her.
Some Alaskan is protecting her from doing her time in prison. They know she is guilty. This case wouldn’t be dragged out biding time if it wasn’t for her protector.
This is a beyond shameful display of justice, regardless if she is guilty or not.
Speaking of election fraud, has anyone else been following the admission by the good folks in Fulton County, GA regarding the 315,000 early ballots that were illegally certified in 2020?
The ‘process’ is often the punishment, certainly in this case. This case needs to be dismissed! If an example needs to be made of someone, how about a high level bad actor? There’s a bunch to choose from. Hillary Clinton for her Russia Russia Russia hoax? There’s a lot more real bad actors out there that had a criminal multi million voter effect on an election! Stop spending our tax dollars making lawyers richer by screwing with LeDoux!!