DOJ Sues Alaska to Block Senate Election Certification, Citing ‘Voter Confusion’

The Justice Department is suing Alaska to block certification of the state’s U.S. Senate race, alleging that the presence of a second Daniel Sullivan on the state’s ballot causes confusion. 

Daniel J. Sullivan is running as an independent in the closely contested Senate race against incumbent Republican Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan and former Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola. 

The federal complaint tells the Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher the duplicate names could put the final results of the race in question and create “voter confusion,” Courthouse News Service reported. 

“The sole purpose of [Dan J. Sullivan’s] candidacy is to benefit the Peltola campaign by reducing the number of votes for Senator Sullivan,” the DOJ complaint says.

The Justice Department argues the state should not certify the election outcome if it appears to be the result of voter confusion.

It calls for an order to prevent “defendants from certifying any result that may be impacted by voter confusion, as defined above, pending an investigation to determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan and any further procedures or relief this Court deems necessary and appropriate to determine what the result would have been absent Daniel J. Sullivan’s inclusion on the ballot.”

In August, Daniel J. Sullivan, a first-time politician and retired teacher, advanced to the general election ballot as one of the top four recipients of votes in the state’s ranked-choice primary.

This election and case comes after years of controversy over Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system in general elections. Ranked-choice voting allows a voter to rank their choices of candidates, and counting proceeds to another round if no candidate gets a majority of first-round votes.

State Republicans, including Beecher, named in the lawsuit in her official capacity, have portrayed Dan J. Sullivan as a spoiler candidate intending to confuse voters. The two Sullivans are differentiated by their middle initials on the ballot.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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