Alaska investigates possible voter-confusion scheme in Senate race
State and federal authorities are probing whether a candidate sharing a name with incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan was created to mislead voters in Alaska's Senate primary.
State and federal prosecutors in Alaska have opened investigations into a possible scheme to confuse voters in the U.S. Senate race. The probe focuses on Dan J. Sullivan, a former teacher who entered the Republican primary in May and claims to be running a legitimate campaign against incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan.
Alaska officials allege that the newcomer’s candidacy may have been designed to mislead voters and benefit Democratic challenger Mary Peltola. The Alaska Supreme Court recently allowed Dan J. Sullivan to remain on the August primary ballot after the elections division initially barred him, citing concerns that his filing was intended to confuse voters.
The FBI, the Alaska attorney general’s office, and the U.S. attorney’s office are examining whether a conspiracy involving two or more individuals violated state law, federal wire-fraud statutes, or civil-rights protections. One source said the state investigation began before the federal inquiry, which is looking for evidence of a coordinated effort to undermine a free and fair election.
The outcome of the investigations could affect the primary, where the top four vote-getters advance to the November general election, which will be decided by ranked-choice voting.
"Our campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Mary is focused on lowering costs for Alaskans, and our campaign will be connecting with Alaskans across the state to ensure their voices are heard on Election Day," said Harry Child, a spokesperson for Peltola.
Senator Sullivan’s campaign declined to comment, and the challenger Sullivan’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. attorney’s office and the Alaska attorney general’s office also declined to comment.
