Alaska Governor Orders Criminal Probe Into Senate Ballot Scheme as DOJ Seeks to Block Certification
Updated
Updated · FactCheck.org · Oct 30
Alaska Governor Orders Criminal Probe Into Senate Ballot Scheme as DOJ Seeks to Block Certification
3 articles · Updated · FactCheck.org · Oct 30
Summary
Mike Dunleavy on Oct. 29 directed Alaska’s Department of Public Safety to investigate whether recruiting similarly named Senate candidates violated state law, after a New York Times report alleged an organized voter-confusion scheme.
The Times said operatives aligned with Democrat Mary Peltola helped recruit retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and another Republican candidate to siphon support from incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan; Peltola denied any knowledge or role.
The Justice Department had already sued on Oct. 22, asking a federal court not to certify the race if Dan Sullivan loses by fewer votes than Daniel J. Sullivan receives and voter confusion may have affected the result.
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. won 2.47% in Alaska’s Aug. 18 primary after courts restored him to the ballot, rejecting state election officials’ earlier finding that his candidacy was not in good faith.
With less than a week until the Nov. 3 election, the dispute has become a test of Alaska’s ranked-choice system, which some experts say could limit any spoiler effect and may leave the DOJ case on weak legal footing.