USAupdated 1h ago3 min read
MapJustice Department Seeks To Isolate Alaska Ballots In Dan Sullivan, Mary Peltola Probe
8 Western Mainstream1 Local Western1 Other1 West AsianMap: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
DOJ seeks order to isolate Alaska ballots amid criminal probe into Dan Sullivan name confusion Alaska Democrats accused of recruiting a spoiler candidate with identical name to dilute votes
Save coverage image
11 outlets told this the same way.
Ballots to be segregated
The U.S. Department of Justice sought a court order to isolate certain Alaska ballots to investigate potential voter confusion in the Senate race featuring Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola.
U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters in Anchorage that the investigation had been ongoing for several months and that New York Times revelations about Peltola's campaign appearing to be involved in recruiting retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan triggered a "significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska."
The Justice Department also asked a judge to order state elections officials to "preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan" for purposes of investigating whether the ranking was the product of voter confusion.
Alaska Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Bryan Wilson argued in a filing that the government sought to preserve and segregate the ballots "for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion."
Alaska attorneys responded that segregation was "both disturbing and impossible" because voters' ballots are commingled in the ballot box on Election Day and election workers could not segregate ballots without violating ballot secrecy protections.
Peltola denies, Sullivan attacks
Mary Peltola denied involvement in the effort to put Dan J. Sullivan on the ballot, saying, "I am not interested in tricking voters," while Dan J. Sullivan has long denied he was running at Democrats' behest.
Dan Sullivan told CNN he would accept the results of his race, and he also slammed Alaska Democrats over an alleged scheme to confuse voters by recruiting a spoiler candidate.
Dan Sullivan told CNN's "State of the Union" that "There is no way this went on for a year that they weren’t informing her," and he added, "She got caught lying, and she’s still lying to the Alaskan people, the media, to all of us."
Mary Peltola insisted she had "no idea" if any of her staff were involved when she was asked before a rally Friday.
Senator Dan Sullivan said he would "let the lawyers" determine whether crimes were committed, while he also said he was "going to accept the results of the election."
Legal fight and election stakes
The dispute has become a central feature of the lead-up to a Tuesday ranked choice general election, with the Justice Department seeking to block certification of a possible Democratic win if the incumbent loses. Alaska's Republican-run state government urged a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, writing that there is "no reason for this Court to entertain this meritless lawsuit any longer" and arguing that federal interference would violate voter privacy. The Justice Department also asked the court to separate ballots that rank Dan J Sullivan, with Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward arguing the move was to investigate whether such ranking "was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary".
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled this summer that the second candidate fulfilled all legal requirements to stay on, and Alaska officials argued the ballot was designed to minimize voter confusion by distinguishing the two Sullivans on the ballot. Michael Heyman said at a Friday afternoon press conference, "There is both a civil investigation and a criminal investigation that are ongoing," as the case proceeded with expedited consideration by the federal judge.