The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to order Alaska election officials to preserve and segregate ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan, the retired teacher whose name resembles that of Republican incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan, days before Tuesday’s ranked-choice Senate election.
In a filing on Friday, October 30, the department said it “seeks to preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary.” It asked for a decision by Monday, November 2.
What the filing asks for — and what it does not
The request is for preservation and segregation, not for discarding votes. The department’s own filing frames segregation as a precautionary step so that, if an investigation into voter confusion later becomes necessary, the relevant ballots have not been lost or mixed beyond recovery. No judge had ordered segregation in the reporting available at the time of writing, and the filing does not explain how investigators would distinguish a voter who was confused from one who intentionally ranked Daniel J. Sullivan.
That distinction matters in Alaska’s ranked-choice system, where voters may rank several candidates. The filing covers ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan at any position, not only ballots listing him first. Under Alaska’s rules, a ballot counts for its highest-ranked candidate still in the race, so a ranking alone does not show why a voter made that choice.
The two Sullivans on the ballot
The incumbent is listed as Sullivan, Dan S., with a Republican designation and an incumbent marker. The challenger is listed as Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr., without a party label on that entry, according to the state’s official sample ballot described in reporting on the filing. State officials have already taken steps to distinguish the two names on the ballot.
The department argues there is a “substantial risk” that the challenger’s candidacy “will mislead voters and ultimately result in an electoral process that lacks integrity.” It says the precautionary measures “will be impossible after Election Day” if they are not taken now.
Criminal investigation confirmed
Separately on Friday, Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman confirmed in Anchorage that a criminal investigation has been under way for several months, and said recent reporting had led to a “significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska.” He did not identify targets or potential offences.
The reporting at the centre of the dispute is a New York Times account that the campaign of Democratic nominee Mary Peltola, a former U.S. representative, appeared to be involved in recruiting Daniel J. Sullivan. Peltola denied on Thursday that she knew anything about an effort to put him on the ballot, saying: “I am not interested in tricking voters.” The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has denied involvement, and Daniel J. Sullivan has long denied he was running at Democrats’ behest. None of those allegations has become a finding of criminal wrongdoing.
The department also sought faster access to campaign communications about alleged recruitment efforts, and filed proposed questions it wants the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to answer in the civil case.
Alaska’s objection
Attorneys for the state questioned how segregation would be possible in practice. They argued that voters’ ballots are commingled in the ballot box on Election Day and that election workers could not segregate ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan without violating ballot-secrecy protections. They also argued that segregated ballots would not reveal any voter’s reason for ranking him, and they asked the judge to dismiss the case.
The civil lawsuit was filed last week. It originally sought to block certification if Senator Sullivan loses and votes for Daniel J. Sullivan could have changed the outcome. The department now says the “only immediate relief” it is seeking is preservation and segregation.
A parallel California request was rejected
The Alaska request follows the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejecting a Justice Department request for California to set aside disputed ballots sent to some 20,000 people the administration contends may not be U.S. citizens. That history does not decide the Alaska case, but it shows courts have not automatically granted segregation requests of this kind.
What happens next
The department wants a ruling by Monday, November 2, before Tuesday’s election. If the judge declines, the ballots will be counted under Alaska’s normal ranked-choice process. If the judge orders preservation and segregation, the order itself would not change any vote — it would preserve ballots for a possible later examination of whether confusion occurred. Either way, the criminal investigation and the civil case continue separately from the election count.
Sources
- Associated Press via Economic Times: US Justice Department seeks to isolate Alaska ballots as criminal probe underway over Senate candidate
- NPR / Associated Press: Justice Department seeks to isolate Alaska ballots amid criminal probe
- Democracy Docket: In new escalation, DOJ wants to force Alaska to segregate ballots in Senate race
- NewsCubby briefing: DOJ asks to separate Alaska ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan
Frequently asked questions
Who are the two Sullivans? Senator Dan S. Sullivan, the Republican incumbent, and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher and challenger with a similar name.
Has a judge ordered ballots to be segregated? Not in the reporting available at the time of writing — the Justice Department has asked for such an order, with a decision requested by November 2.
Would segregation change votes? No. Segregation preserves ballots for possible later examination; it does not discard or reassign them.
Has anyone been found to have recruited the challenger? No. Recruitment involvement is alleged in reporting and denied by Peltola, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Daniel J. Sullivan himself.
Related coverage: More Than 43 Million Ballots Already Cast as US Midterm Early Voting Surges and Democrats Lead Final Midterm Polls by 8 Points as Voters Head to Tuesday’s Vote.
