USAupdated 1h ago3 min read
Archive photo · 17 November 2022Mary Peltola Denies Knowing Scheme With Two Dan Sullivans On Alaska Senate Ballot
7 Western Mainstream2 Western Alternative1 Latin American1 OtherPhoto: Leah Herman, House Creative Services / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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Peltola denies knowledge of effort to place another candidate named Dan Sullivan on Alaska ballot. Independent candidate Daniel J. Sullivan appeared on ballots, allegedly recruited to split Sullivan's vote.
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Two Dan Sullivans
Mary Peltola denied she knew about an alleged “scheme” that led to two men named Dan Sullivan standing in the Alaska Senate race, saying, “I just want to clear the air,” and “I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent.” Michael Heyman said the US attorney for the district of Alaska was overseeing an ongoing probe, adding, “There is both a civil investigation and a criminal investigation that are ongoing,” as the Trump administration escalated its request for election officials to separate ballots that rank retired teacher Dan J Sullivan. The Justice Department sought an order directing state election officials “to preserve and segregate” all ballots that rank Dan J Sullivan, with Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward arguing the move targeted whether such ranking “was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary”.
“‘I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent.”
The BBC reported that the Alaska race was considered one of the tightest in the upcoming US midterm elections, with the non-partisan Cook Political Report classifying it as a toss-up, as President Donald Trump prepared to appear at back-to-back rallies in Kansas and Iowa. The BBC also reported that the New York Times alleged Peltola’s team worked with people who tried to recruit spoiler candidates, while the BBC said it had not independently verified the Times reporting and noted Peltola and Sullivan denied any links to her campaign.
Escalation and subpoenas
Michael Heyman told reporters the Justice Department was acting to “intensely and swiftly” escalate its probe into the Alaska Senate race, while he said the office had received “a number of new pieces of information” in just the last 24 hours. Heyman conceded that the department had not made a determination about what specific crime was being investigated, saying, “We investigate whether a crime has been committed under several theories,” and adding, “So I'm not going to comment on what those theories are”. Peltola told supporters in Juneau, Alaska’s capital, “I am not interested in tricking voters,” and she also said, “I just want to clear the air,” while stating, “I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent.”
President Donald Trump accused Peltola of voter fraud and said Alaskans would need to have a “190 IQ” to understand the ballot with two Dan Sullivans, despite the ballot’s distinctions between the two candidates’ names and other marks like party affiliation and incumbency. The BBC reported that the Justice Department began issuing subpoenas targeting Democratic officials allegedly connected to the recruitment effort, and it said no charges had been filed as of Friday morning.
What is at stake
The Justice Department asked a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction that would block Alaska from certifying its Senate election result if the incumbent senator loses, with the filing tied to the presence of Daniel J Sullivan on the ballot.
“Just read the paper. It's not that hard.”
The Guardian reported that Heyman said, “The civil lawsuit is publicly faced, and is focused on preserving the ballots,” while he also said he would not say what potential crimes authorities were looking into.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into whether criminal charges or civil action could be warranted, and he said, “Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections.”
CBS News reported that Daniel J. Sullivan left his hometown of Petersburg earlier this week, and it quoted Andrew Worhatch saying, “I don't think it's a serious candidacy,” while Keely Hankins argued, “Just read the paper. It's not that hard.”
The BBC reported that the Alaska race could decide who controls the Senate, and it said the non-partisan Cook Political Report classified the contest as a toss-up as voters headed to the polls across the US.