Alaska Governor Orders Criminal Investigation Into Claims Peltola Campaign Recruited Namesake Candidate
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered the state Department of Public Safety to investigate allegations that Mary Peltola's Senate campaign helped recruit a namesake candidate to confuse voters, days before the Nov. 3 election.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a criminal investigation Wednesday night into allegations that the Senate campaign of Democrat Mary Peltola worked with others to recruit candidates with the same name as Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, days before voters decide the race.
Dunleavy said he was directing the Alaska Department of Public Safety to look into whether the effort broke state law and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted. In a social media message at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, he wrote that a New York Times report on the recruitment effort “substantially supports the Division’s findings,” referring to the state Division of Elections.
The accusations center on Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, who the Times reported was recruited by the Peltola campaign and Democratic Party officials, after months of denials from all sides that any such collaboration took place. The Times also noted that the practice, known as “ballot stacking,” is common in campaigns and generally legal.
What the state already decided about the namesake candidate
Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, appointed by Dunleavy, removed Dan J. Sullivan from the ballot earlier this year, calling him a sham candidate whose purpose was to trick voters. The Alaska Supreme Court overruled that decision, ruling that the state’s authority covers constitutional requirements such as age and residency, not a candidate’s intentions.
Dunleavy, a Republican and a supporter of Sullivan and President Donald Trump, wrote: “Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support. Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections.” He added: “Anyone or any organization found to have broken the law must be held accountable.”
The Peltola campaign did not immediately respond to a late Wednesday night inquiry from the Juneau Independent. Trump said Wednesday that Peltola should be prosecuted over the allegations.
A separate federal fight over certification
The state investigation is separate from a federal lawsuit the Trump administration filed last week seeking to halt certification of the race if Dan S. Sullivan loses by fewer votes than Dan J. Sullivan receives. The Alaska Department of Law has argued the federal government does not have that authority. Peltola has asked a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department suit over the race’s certification.
Rick Hasen, author of the Election Law Blog, wrote Wednesday that he doubted the government could criminalize a candidacy based on motive: “I don’t see how the government could criminalize (Dan J. Sullivan) running for office for having impure motives.” He added that such prosecutions could reach common campaign tactics, such as backing a third-party candidate in hopes of weakening an opponent.
No charges have been filed as a result of the governor’s order, and the ballot has not changed.
Reporting based on coverage by the Juneau Independent and The New York Times.
