Election results for an Alaska Senate race should not be certified if the Republican incumbent loses, federal officials said in a new lawsuit.
Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan (R-Alaska) is running in the general election against three challengers, including independent candidate Dan Sullivan (also known as Daniel J. Sullivan) and Democrat Mary Peltola.
The only purpose of Dan Sullivan’s candidacy is to confuse voters and mislead supporters of Sen. Sullivan into voting for him, which will make it easier for Peltola to win, Department of Justice lawyers said in the Oct. 22 lawsuit.
They cited a law that says state officials must “protect the integrity of the electoral process” and a Supreme Court ruling that concluded states have an interest in excluding “frivolous or fraudulent candidacies.”
“Should Alaska certify any electoral results tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J. Sullivan … the State and its officers will fail in its obligation to protect the integrity of its election,” the filing says.
The results should not be certified if two factors are met, the Trump administration said. One is Sen. Sullivan losing. The other is that all the votes that went to Dan Sullivan would have resulted in Sen. Sullivan’s win if counted for the incumbent.
Officials asked a federal judge in Alaska to declare that certifying the result in that scenario would violate state officials’ responsibility under federal law to protect the integrity of the electoral process. State officials should be blocked from certifying the result, pending an investigation that would determine whether votes for Dan Sullivan were meant for the senator.
“This is a despicable political threat to overturn an election,” Harry Child, a spokesperson for Peltola’s campaign, told The Epoch Times in an email. Child added that “we will fight to ensure every single eligible voter in Alaska can make their voice heard and that no bureaucrat or politician from the Lower 48 can interfere with our lawful, secure elections.”
State defendants and Sen. Sullivan did not immediately return requests for comment.
An email to Dan Sullivan’s campaign bounced back.
Election official Carol Beecher said over the summer that Dan Sullivan was ineligible to run because he did not file his candidacy in good faith.
“In this situation, all of the facts that were presented to the division were that this was an individual who was not running to be what I would call a true candidate,” she told state lawmakers during a July hearing.
“This individual was running to confuse the ballot. It was an intentional attempt to gain access to the ballot for the purpose of confusing.”
An Alaskan judge, though, later ordered Dan Sullivan’s name to appear on the ballot, and the Alaska Supreme Court upheld the ruling.
Sen. Sullivan’s campaign has called Dan Sullivan “a sham candidate” who is running “to deceive voters and manipulate Alaska’s election system.”
Dan Sullivan has said that the allegations against him are unsupported.
“The people of Alaska are fully capable of deciding for themselves who should represent them in Washington,” he said in a previous statement.
“If Senator Sullivan believes he has served Alaska well during his twelve years in office, he should make that case directly to voters. He should not rely on government officials or legal maneuvers to limit who can challenge him.”
