An Alaska judge has ordered that a challenger sharing the name of a sitting U.S. senator must be placed back on the state’s August 18 Republican primary ballot, overturning a decision by a state election official who had removed him.
Dan J. Sullivan, a former U.S. Forest Service worker and retired teacher, was pulled from the ballot last week by Carol Beecher, director of the Alaska Division of Elections. Republican Party officials had argued his presence on the ballot would confuse voters.
Senator Dan Sullivan and other Republicans have also claimed that Democrats deliberately recruited the challenger to create voter confusion and boost Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola, a former U.S. representative.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews issued his ruling late Friday, finding that the removal of the challenger had been based on criteria described as “good-faith” but which do not appear in either the Alaska Constitution or the state’s election laws. “Mr. Dan Sullivan is declared to be an eligible candidate,” the judge wrote in his conclusion.
According to local media reports, Judge Matthews’ ruling is expected to be appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court before a Tuesday deadline, when state election officials are scheduled to begin printing ballots.
Alaska uses a nonpartisan primary system in which all candidates, regardless of party, appear together on a single ballot. The top four vote-getters then move on to the November general election.
A spokesperson for the Peltola campaign, Harry Child, issued a statement saying the campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan’s campaign.
Senator Sullivan’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the Alaska Democratic Party. A representative for Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign was also unavailable for comment.
