Trump administration files lawsuit to prevent Alaska Senate the election will not be certified if Republican Sen. Daniel Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola because of the other Dan Sullivan who is on the ballot.
Alaskans will choose their senator in a ranked-choice contest with four candidates on the ballot: Sen. Dan Sullivan, Peltola, Gerald Heikes and a teacher named Daniel J. Sullivan.
The Justice Department argues that if Senator Sullivan were to lose due to votes unintentionally cast for Daniel J. Sullivan instead of Senator, the election should not be considered valid.
The government alleges that candidate Daniel J. Sullivan deliberately sought to confuse voters by running with the same ballot name and party affiliation as the incumbent senator. He argues that he is potentially siphoning off votes and that Peltola could benefit.
In its court filing Friday, the Justice Department argued that allowing Daniel J. Sullivan to be on the ballot “threatens to mislead Alaska citizens who want to vote for Senator Sullivan” and said some of his supporters “will likely inadvertently vote for Daniel J. Sullivan.”
Additionally, the senator’s other supporters “will likely not know how to rank the three Republican candidates to defeat Peltola” and “may not rank Sen. Sullivan at all.”
Peltola campaign spokesman Harry Child told CBS News in a statement that the effort constituted “a despicable political threat aimed at overturning an election.”
“We will fight to ensure that every eligible voter in Alaska can make their voice heard and that no bureaucrat or politician from the Lower 48 can interfere with our legal and secure elections,” Child said.
A sample ballot included in the Justice Department filing shows how the two Sullivans would be listed: Daniel J. Sullivan appears first, as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.,” with no party affiliation, while Sen. Sullivan appears next, as “Sullivan, Dan S. (registered Republican) incumbent.”
In June, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Daniel J. Sullivan could remain on the ballot, enforce a decision of a lower court. State courts overturned the State Division of Elections’ decision that Daniel J. Sullivan was ineligible because he allegedly tried to “sow confusion among voters”.
Daniel J. Sullivan’s attorneys argued that the state “had no basis in Alaska law to exclude Mr. Sullivan from the ballot” and lacked the authority to examine his “private motives.” They said state law does not give officials the authority to exclude qualified candidates from the ballot because of potential confusion.
If Sen. Sullivan loses in November but would have won if other Sullivan’s votes had been counted for him, the Justice Department would request an investigation, according to his complaint.
A Justice Department spokesperson said the DOJ filed the complaint “to ensure that this frivolous application does not undermine the integrity of Alaska’s elections or the will of its voters.”
The department says Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy violates the National Voter Registration Act, which was passed to make the voter registration process more accessible.
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