Justice Department seeks to isolate Alaska ballots as criminal probe underway over Senate candidate

The Justice Department is asking a judge to order Alaska election officials to preserve and segregate ballots that rank Daniel J. Sullivan. The department says the step could help investigate whether voters confused him with the Republican incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan. It also seeks to block certification of the Senate race if the incumbent loses.

The proposed order would target ballots naming Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher whose candidacy has drawn scrutiny. The department says there is a “substantial risk” that his candidacy could mislead voters. It asked for a decision by Monday, just before Tuesday’s ranked-choice election.

The request does not itself change the election result. It would preserve ballots for possible investigation. Alaska officials oppose the idea, saying ballots are mixed together on Election Day and cannot be separated without threatening ballot secrecy. A judge must decide whether the request is legally and practically possible.

Dan Sullivan is Alaska’s two-term Republican senator and the incumbent seeking reelection. Daniel J. Sullivan is a retired teacher from Petersburg whose candidacy has triggered a federal investigation. The race also includes Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola and could affect Senate control.

The article presents the incumbent as “Dan Sullivan” and the other candidate as “Dan J. Sullivan” or “Daniel J. Sullivan.” Alaska election officials made efforts to distinguish the two Sullivans on the ballot. However, the supplied article does not state the exact ballot wording, including whether it used “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.”

That similarity is central to the dispute. The Justice Department says voters might mistakenly rank the retired teacher. Peltola and Democratic officials deny involvement in a trick, while Dan J. Sullivan has denied running at Democrats’ request. The case may determine whether disputed rankings receive further scrutiny.

Ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Instead of marking only one name, a voter may select a first choice, second choice and sometimes additional choices. If no candidate wins the required majority, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated and those ballots move to the next available preference.

In Alaska’s Senate race, a voter could see both Dan Sullivan and Daniel J. Sullivan and rank both. For example, the voter might mark the incumbent first and the retired teacher second, or mistakenly treat the two similar names as the same person. The Justice Department says such possible confusion is why it wants certain ballots preserved.

The article does not explain every counting rule for Alaska’s election, but it identifies Tuesday’s contest as ranked-choice voting. Any disputed ranking could therefore matter both as a voter’s recorded preference and as evidence in the federal inquiry. Alaska officials warn that isolating those ballots could threaten secrecy.

The U.S. Senate has 100 seats, with two seats representing each state. Party control depends on which candidates win enough seats to form a majority, so a single closely contested race can become decisive when the overall balance is tight.

The article describes Alaska’s contest as one of a handful nationwide expected to determine Senate control. Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is facing Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola. The race is especially important because it could add one seat to either party’s total at a time when several contests are competitive.

The Alaska result therefore matters beyond the state. If the vote is close or disputed, delays in certification could postpone a final understanding of the Senate balance. The Justice Department’s lawsuit seeks to block certification if the incumbent loses, while its ballot request could preserve evidence for investigating disputed rankings.

If a court blocks certification, Alaska cannot finalize the Senate result while the legal dispute continues. The Justice Department has asked for that possibility if incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan loses. It separately wants certain ballots preserved and isolated for a potential investigation into voter confusion.

The disputed ballots are those ranking Daniel J. Sullivan. Federal officials say similar names might have misled voters. The department has also submitted questions for the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in the civil case. Peltola and Democratic officials deny involvement in a campaign trick.

The immediate consequence could be delay and uncertainty rather than an automatic change in the winner. The court must decide whether ballots can be segregated and whether certification can be blocked. Because the Alaska contest could help determine Senate control, an unresolved result could leave the national balance unsettled.

Ballot secrecy means a voter’s choices should not be traceable back to that voter. Alaska officials say separating ballots after they are cast could threaten that protection. They argue that election workers cannot isolate ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan without risking the secrecy built into the voting process.

Their practical example is the ballot box on Election Day. Ballots are commingled rather than stored in separate groups based on a candidate’s ranking. Officials say workers could not safely pull out every ballot listing Daniel J. Sullivan without handling ballots in a way that might connect choices to individual voters.

Officials also argue that even segregated ballots would not explain why a voter selected Dan J. Sullivan. They asked a judge to dismiss the case. The dispute shows the tension between preserving possible evidence and protecting private voting choices, especially before Tuesday’s election and any later certification.

A civil election lawsuit asks a court to order or prevent government action. Here, the Justice Department filed a civil case seeking to block certification of the Senate race if the incumbent loses. It also asks the court to preserve ballots and compel answers from the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

A criminal investigation is different. It examines whether conduct may have violated criminal law and can involve federal law enforcement. Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said that investigation has been ongoing for several months. He said recent reporting led to a significant surge of law enforcement assets in Alaska.

The Justice Department can bring the civil case in court and use federal investigators in the criminal probe. The two proceedings may examine related facts, but they have different purposes. The civil case concerns election procedures and certification. The criminal probe concerns possible wrongdoing and has not been described in the article as producing charges.