A top Alaska election official has disqualified a same-name Republican challenger to Sen. Dan Sullivan from the primary ballot, citing concerns that the campaign was designed to confuse voters. Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher made the ruling, stating that Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy appeared to be filed with the purpose of confusing or misleading voters.
Background
Dan J. Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher, had filed as a Republican Senate candidate despite having no prior affiliation with the GOP. The GOP had argued that his entry into the race was a covert attempt by Democrats to recruit a ‘sham’ candidate and confuse voters.
Beecher cited several details that led to her conclusion, including Dan J. Sullivan’s request to appear on the ballot as ‘Dan Sullivan’ despite registering to vote under the name ‘Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr.’. Additionally, his new website used a similar color scheme and overall theme to the incumbent’s campaign materials.
The election official also noted Dan J. Sullivan’s connection to Amber Lee, an Alaska Democratic consultant who has previously supported Mary Peltola, the Democratic challenger to Sen. Sullivan. Metadata from the campaign’s launch identified Lee as the author, suggesting a deliberate attempt to use the similarity of names to confuse Alaska voters.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
