By SUZANNE DOWNING
Aug. 23, 2026 – The election misconduct prosecution of former Alaska Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux has taken another turn, with Alaska Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Henderson recusing herself from an appellate proceeding connected to the six-year-old case.
A formal recusal notice dated July 30 states that Henderson “will not participate” in State of Alaska v. Gabrielle Ruth LeDoux, Supreme Court case No. S-19923. The notice, entered at Henderson’s direction, does not explain why she stepped aside.
The Supreme Court matter was opened June 22 and is listed in the court system’s public records as “ripe for decision.” Unlike trial-court cases, Supreme Court appeals generally go before all eligible members of the court rather than being assigned to one justice.
Henderson appears to be the first judge or justice publicly documented as recusing from the case. Although the criminal prosecution has moved among several trial-court judges at the Superior Court level, those earlier changes were reassignments rather than known recusals.
Superior Court Judge Kevin Saxby presided over LeDoux’s first trial in November 2024. After that trial ended with a deadlocked jury, the case was later reassigned to Superior Court Judge Josie Garton for a possible retrial. Other judges have signed scheduling orders along the way, but the July 30 Supreme Court notice is the first known formal recusal.
The case began in March 2020, when state prosecutors charged LeDoux and two associates following an investigation by the Alaska State Troopers and FBI. The investigation began after the Division of Elections reported irregularities involving absentee-ballot applications during the 2018 Republican primary.
LeDoux, a Republican who represented East Anchorage in the Alaska House, was accused of encouraging or pressuring people who did not live in her legislative district to register and vote there during the 2018 primary and general elections.
The original allegations also involved the 2014 election, but Superior Court Judge Michael Franciosi dismissed those charges in 2021 after finding they were filed too late. The remaining case centers on the 2018 election.
LeDoux has pleaded not guilty and has maintained her innocence.
Her former campaign aide and longtime close friend Lisa Simpson Vaught and Simpson’s son, Caden Vaught, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor voter-misconduct charges before LeDoux’s first trial. Both testified for the prosecution.
The state argued that LeDoux encouraged Simpson and Vaught to register and vote in House District 15 (Muldoon neighborhood of Anchorage) even though they were living elsewhere. Prosecutors pointed to text messages and other evidence they said showed LeDoux was attempting to bring additional votes into what she expected to be a close race.
The defense argued that LeDoux did not submit the voter-registration forms and believed Simpson and Vaught could establish residency in the district based on their plans to move or return there. The dispute placed Alaska’s statutory definition of voter residency at the center of the trial.
After approximately nine days of testimony and arguments, the jury began deliberating. On Dec. 2, 2024, jurors reported that they could not reach a unanimous verdict on any of the 12 remaining charges. Judge Saxby declared a mistrial.
Those charges include five Class C felony counts of first-degree voter misconduct and seven misdemeanor counts of unlawful interference with voting. The Alaska Department of Law announced in January 2025 that it intended to try LeDoux again.
But a second trial has yet to begin.
After the case was reassigned to Garton, the court held a succession of trial-setting conferences. A June 2026 trial date was eventually placed on the calendar, but the case became entangled in another legal fight over how jurors should be instructed about residency and voter registration.
Garton issued a ruling that favored parts of the defense’s interpretation. The state challenged that ruling, sending the dispute into the appellate courts before a second jury could hear the case.
On May 1, Garton postponed the planned June retrial while the appellate issue was being considered. The related Supreme Court proceeding followed in June, and Henderson stepped aside about five weeks later.
No reason for the recusal has been made public. Alaska’s judicial-conduct rules require judges and justices to disqualify themselves in cases involving certain relationships, financial interests, personal bias or other circumstances in which their impartiality could reasonably be questioned. Recusal notices do not always identify the underlying reason.
The case remains unresolved more than eight years after the election at issue, more than six years after charges were filed and nearly two years after the first trial ended without a verdict.
One of the state’s longest-running election cases is still stuck between its first mistrial and a second trial that has no firm starting date.
Alaska’s trial of the century? Judge tries to lock in a trial date
Yet another delay in the long-running election fraud trial of Gabrielle LeDoux
Year in review: LeDoux trial drags on into sixth year, with still no trial date in sight
