SUSPICIOUS Mistaken IDENTITY Hits State ELECTION

man in suit walking on city street with facial recognition overlay — Photo: Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock

The Justice Department has asked a federal court to stop Alaska from certifying its U.S. Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, arguing that a second candidate with nearly the same name may have confused voters.

Story Snapshot

The Justice Department filed the lawsuit late Thursday, October 22, in federal court in Alaska, 12 days before Election Day.
On Friday, October 23, President Trump told reporters in Florida he ordered the suit: “I’m the one that said, ‘do it.'”
The ballot lists the incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan, and a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a registered Republican from Petersburg, Alaska.
The suit asks the state to hold off certifying the result, meaning making it official, if Sen. Sullivan loses and the other Sullivan’s votes could have changed the winner.
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. denies any tie to Democrats, and Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign says it will fight the suit.
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a registered Republican, has confirmed that a political consultant who has worked for Democratic candidates helped his campaign.

What The Lawsuit Seeks And Why

The Justice Department says Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. entered the race to confuse voters and help Mary Peltola, a Democrat and former congresswoman who is challenging Sen. Sullivan. The filing calls his run “frivolous.” It also points out that, although he is a registered Republican, he worked with a political consultant who has worked for Democratic candidates. He has confirmed the consultant helped his campaign. Reports on the filing show no proof that he worked with Democrats directly.

The suit asks Alaska’s Division of Elections, the state office that runs elections, not to certify the result until an investigation finds out how many voters may have picked the wrong Sullivan. According to the filing, a result “may be impacted by voter confusion” if Sen. Sullivan does not win. The government bases its case on the National Voter Registration Act, a 1993 federal law about signing up voters, which speaks of protecting “the integrity of the electoral process.” The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason.

The stakes are real for Republicans. In the August primary, Peltola took about 49.5% of the vote, Sen. Sullivan about 41.4% and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. about 2.5%. In a close November race, the other Sullivan’s small share is the part the suit is aimed at.

How Alaska’s Ballot Shows The Two Sullivans

Alaska uses ranked-choice voting. Voters rank the candidates in order. If no one wins more than half of the first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is dropped, and those ballots go to each voter’s next choice. That repeats until a winner emerges. A voter who ranks Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. first and Sen. Sullivan second would see that vote move to the senator if the other Sullivan is dropped.

The ballot lists “Sullivan, Dan S. (Registered Republican) Incumbent.” The other line reads “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.,” with no party shown, even though he is a registered Republican.

The state tried to remove him once already. In June, the Division of Elections took him off the primary ballot, saying he ran to confuse or mislead voters. A state judge overturned that decision, finding the claim was not backed by enough evidence, and the Alaska Supreme Court upheld that ruling on June 29. The state did not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

What Each Side Says

Trump has pushed this fight for weeks. At an October 13 rally in Wasilla, Alaska, he said, “we’re going to defend the integrity of Alaska’s elections,” and he has criticized ranked-choice voting. Sen. Sullivan’s campaign spokesman, Nate Adams, said, “We’ll let the DOJ complaint run its course.” A campaign aide said the senator did not ask for the suit and was surprised by it.

Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. says he ran because he is unhappy with the senator, and he says he has no link to the Democratic Party or to Peltola’s campaign. He told a local radio station he felt vindicated by evidence of “very little, if any, voter confusion.”

Peltola’s campaign spokesman, Harry Child, called the suit “a despicable political threat to overturn an election.” Some legal experts are also critical. Derek Muller, an election law professor at Notre Dame, said, “the legal argument is one of the worst ones I’ve ever seen.”

What To Watch Next

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. No court has ordered Alaska to delay certification, and Judge Gleason has not ruled on the suit. The suit only matters if Sen. Sullivan loses by a margin small enough that the other Sullivan’s votes could have changed the result. Peltola’s campaign has said it will fight the case in court.