Alaska Senate election: DOJ wants to 'segregate' all ballots for 2nd Sullivan candidate

Preserving and “segregating” ballots means keeping ballots that rank Dan Sullivan identifiable and separate from other election materials. The DOJ says this could help investigators examine voter intent if the incumbent loses narrowly. It seeks to prevent potentially relevant ballots from becoming impossible to review after certification or other election procedures.

The issue involves two candidates named Sullivan. The non-incumbent appears as Daniel J. Sullivan, while the incumbent is Senator Dan Sullivan. If some voters selected the first Sullivan believing they were supporting the senator, investigators could examine the preserved ballots to determine how many votes may have been affected.

The DOJ is asking Judge Sharon Gleason to block immediate certification if the incumbent loses by a margin that confusion might explain. The article does not say the ballots would automatically be changed or discarded. It says the DOJ wants them preserved for a possible investigation into voter intent.

Voters might confuse the candidates because both are named Sullivan and are running for the U.S. Senate. The incumbent is Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. The other candidate is Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired school teacher running for the Senate for the first time. Their shared surname, and the similar first name, create the concern described in the lawsuit.

The possible mechanism is simple: a voter intending to support the incumbent could rank the non-incumbent Sullivan instead. Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, so those mistaken rankings could affect the first count and possibly later vote transfers. The article says only Mary Peltola and Sen. Sullivan are expected to draw large vote shares.

The effect would matter most if the incumbent loses narrowly. The DOJ wants to determine whether voter confusion explains enough votes to change the outcome. Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC deny helping recruit the retired teacher, while the DOJ is investigating the circumstances.

If incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan loses by a margin that voter confusion might explain, the DOJ wants certification delayed. Certification is the formal process of finalizing the election result. The department argues that immediate certification could prevent a meaningful investigation into whether voters selected the wrong Sullivan.

The DOJ asks Judge Sharon Gleason to require precautionary steps before officials certify the result. Those steps include preserving and segregating ballots that rank Dan Sullivan. The department says the measures may become impossible after Election Day, which it identified as November 3, 2026. It wants to investigate whether ballots reflect voters’ actual intentions.

The result is not automatically overturned under the proposal described. The judge must first consider dismissal motions and the DOJ’s legal claims. The state, Peltola’s campaign, and other groups oppose the suit. Gleason left open the possibility of ruling before Election Day, as those opponents requested.

Alaska uses ranked-choice voting rather than deciding the race from only one selection. Voters rank candidates. Election officials first count the top-ranked choices. If one candidate receives more than 50%, that candidate wins under the process described in the article.

If nobody passes 50% in the first count, the fourth-place candidate is eliminated. Officials then look at ballots that ranked that candidate first. Each ballot’s second choice is allocated to one of the remaining candidates. This redistribution can change the standings and determine who reaches a majority.

The article says only Mary Peltola and Sen. Sullivan are considered likely to receive large shares of votes. That makes the other candidates’ rankings potentially important if no one crosses 50% initially. The article does not explain later rounds beyond eliminating the fourth-place finisher and transferring those ballots’ second choices.

A majority of a 100-member Senate requires 51 seats. The article says Republicans currently have 53 seats. Therefore, the Alaska contest could affect whether Republicans retain control or whether Democrats hold a majority after the new Senate begins in January.

The race matters because the winner would add one seat to that party’s Senate total. The article identifies Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan and Democratic nominee Mary Peltola as the candidates likely to receive large vote shares. A close result could also trigger the DOJ’s proposed investigation into possible confusion involving another Sullivan.

Control of the Senate affects which party holds the majority starting in January. The article does not state the other election results or the exact number of seats each party would hold after Alaska. It does establish that Alaska’s outcome could determine the chamber’s balance, making the certification dispute especially consequential.

The DOJ’s amended complaint adds a claim under the Supremacy Clause to its original claim under the National Voter Registration Act. It seeks authority to delay certification if voter confusion over the two Sullivans may have affected the result. The department says precautionary measures are needed before Election Day.

The state, Peltola’s campaign, and other intervenors challenge that authority. They argue the DOJ cannot block certification simply because two candidates on a four-candidate ballot happen to share the same name. Their dismissal motions ask the federal court to end the lawsuit rather than impose the requested election procedures.

Judge Sharon Gleason ordered the DOJ to respond to the new motions by 1 p.m. Alaska Time. The state and Peltola’s campaign had until noon Saturday to reply. The judge could rule before Tuesday’s election, but the article does not report a final decision on the DOJ’s authority.

Federalism divides election responsibility among levels of government. States generally administer elections, including ballots, counting, and certification. Congress can establish national rules for federal elections. Federal agencies and courts can enforce federal statutes and constitutional requirements, but their authority must come from those laws.

In this dispute, Alaska election officials are responsible for administering and certifying the Senate election. The DOJ, a federal department, is suing in federal court and invoking the National Voter Registration Act and the Supremacy Clause. Judge Sharon Gleason is considering whether the department’s legal claims support the requested intervention.

The article does not provide a full explanation of federal election law or identify every responsibility of Congress and the federal government. It does show the central conflict: state officials and other parties say the DOJ lacks authority to block certification, while the DOJ seeks federal court action before Election Day. The judge’s ruling could clarify the immediate procedure.