Dunleavy Orders DOJ Probe Into Alaska Senate Ballot Confusion

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy directed the Department of Public Safety to investigate potential legal violations in the state’s recent U.S. Senate race. The order follows a New York Times report detailing alleged coordination between the campaign of Rep. Mary Peltola and a third candidate. The governor stated that the reporting supports findings from a June review by the Alaska Division of Elections. He is now seeking to determine if criminal charges or civil action are necessary based on the evidence.

The controversy centers on the presence of two candidates with nearly identical names on the ranked-choice voting ballot. Incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan faced a competitor named Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr. The latter is a retired teacher listed on the ballot without a party affiliation. The New York Times article, titled "Inside Democrats’ Secret Effort to Stack Alaska’s Ballot," claimed that Peltola’s team worked to recruit Mr. Sullivan to run. The report alleged the effort was part of a wider strategy to dilute support for the incumbent.

On Oct. 22, the Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit to delay the certification of results if Sen. Sullivan loses. The suit seeks to hold the results pending an investigation into whether voters mistakenly selected the wrong candidate. Dunleavy’s order extends this scrutiny to state laws. He noted that Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they intend to support. He added that anyone found to have broken the law must be held accountable.

Sen. Dan Sullivan addressed the situation in an interview on Wednesday night. He described his opponent as a far-left candidate with a weak record. "When they recognize that, they're like, 'shoot, I guess we got to cheat,'" he said. Sullivan also pointed out that his opponent has not yet apologized for the incident. He characterized the campaign's response as playing as if nothing happened.

Rep. Peltola’s campaign responded to the Times with a statement asserting the "Alaskans for Mary" campaign had no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. The team stated it did not recruit any candidates into the race. As of Thursday, the campaign had not immediately responded to a comment request from Fox News Digital. The investigation will now determine if the recruitment process violated state statutes.

The timing of the probe places the legal question before the final count is fully processed. The focus remains on whether the presence of the two Sullivans on the same ballot constituted a deliberate manipulation of voter intent. The Department of Public Safety will now review the records to assess the legal standing of the election procedures used in the contest.