Lawyers are trading arguments in a case challenging the state’s failure to process applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on time.

The case dates back to 2023. The number of Alaskans caught in the SNAP backlog has dropped by roughly 75% since plaintiffs filed the class action lawsuit, but the backlog still hovers around 4,000 as the state’s struggle to process applications on time has continued.

Saima Akhtar with the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said her team is asking the court to rule that Alaska’s SNAP system violates low-income Alaskans’ rights .

“The first step is essentially the court assessing whether or not the facts as they are laid out in the record constitute a legal violation,” she said. “And then aft

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