Alaska Governor Orders Probe of Senate Ballot After Report on Second Dan Sullivan

Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation on Wednesday night.

The directive came hours after a New York Times report alleged that Democratic campaign operatives tried to recruit a second candidate named Dan Sullivan for the U.S. Senate race.

The nonpartisan primary process in Alaska allows multiple candidates with the same name to appear on the general election ballot. The second Sullivan is not the current senator, but his presence could confuse voters and split the Republican vote.

The Times based its reporting on interviews and communications with attorneys, advisers for Democrat Mary Peltola, and senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Peltola, the former congresswoman seeking to flip the seat, called the story a distraction while campaigning Wednesday. Her campaign and the DSCC reiterated their long-standing denial of involvement in the non-incumbent Sullivan’s candidacy.

The non-incumbent Sullivan did not respond to media requests for comment on Wednesday, though he has previously stated the decision to run was his own.

Republican leaders moved quickly to capitalize on the news. Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Sullivan, said Peltola and her team spent months denying a scheme they allegedly executed. President Trump posted online that the findings represented "Voter Fraud at the Highest Level."

The Department of Justice had already asked a federal court to delay the certification of results if the incumbent loses by a small margin. Citing potential voter confusion, the DOJ filed an amended complaint on Thursday to reflect the new reporting. Election law experts previously criticized the legal effort, noting that the Constitution gives states primary control over their elections.

State officials had previously probed the dual candidacies. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in June that the non-incumbent Sullivan could remain on the ballot.

It is unclear which specific state laws the Department of Public Safety will test in its new investigation.

Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who has written about campaign tactics, described such maneuvers as standard fare. She noted that the internet makes it easier to spread both tricks and corrections to those tricks.

The general election ballot includes a note identifying which Sullivan is the Republican incumbent. The state also uses ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank both Sullivans without ranking Peltola if they are uncertain. Voters will also decide whether to keep the ranked-choice system in a separate measure on the same ballot.