The Justice Department (DOJ) asked a judge on Oct. 30 to order Alaska election officials to isolate ballots cast for Senate candidate Daniel J. Sullivan—whose name resembles that of incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R-Alaska)—while a criminal investigation into his candidacy is underway.
Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said the probe into the legitimacy of Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy has been ongoing for months, but a New York Times report published Oct. 28 alleging that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign may have been involved in recruiting him has now resulted in a “significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska.”
In a motion filed with the U.S. District Court in Alaska, the DOJ asked a federal judge to issue an order by Nov. 2 requiring state officials to set aside all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for an investigation into whether “such ranking was the product of voter confusion.” Alaska uses ranked-choice voting.
“These modest precautionary measures will be impossible after Election Day, so there is good cause for expedited consideration,” government lawyers said in the filing.
The department also sought a court order allowing expedited discovery of “internal and external conversations” within Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee related to “efforts to recruit Daniel J. Sullivan to run for office,” according to the filing.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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