The U.S. Department of Justice, acting under the Trump administration, filed an amended 21‑page complaint Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. The filing seeks a court order preventing the certification of the November U.S. Senate race if the second‑time candidate Daniel J. Sullivan, who shares a name with incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, alters the final outcome.
Alleged Democratic Scheme
The complaint alleges that operatives working for Democratic challenger Mary Peltola orchestrated a covert “Ballot Composition Project.” Federal prosecutors say the effort recruited Daniel J. Sullivan to run as a Republican solely to siphon conservative votes in Alaska’s ranked‑choice voting system.
According to the filing, internal communications and investigative reporting show that campaign staff searched voter rolls for a namesake candidate and settled on Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg. The Justice Department cites a June 15 finding by Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher that Sullivan’s paperwork was not filed in good faith but was intended to confuse voters and compromise ballot fairness.
State Officials and Governor Respond
Beecher’s report noted that Sullivan had never registered as a Republican, asked to appear simply as “Dan Sullivan,” and used a campaign website that mirrored the incumbent’s visual styling. Although state officials initially tried to bar him, the Alaska Supreme Court cleared him to appear on both the August primary and November general election ballots.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, a steadfast supporter of election integrity, ordered the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether the recruitment effort violated state election laws. “Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support,” Dunleavy said in remarks included in the filing. “Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections.”
Republican Leaders Condemn the Tactic
Senior Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski condemned the alleged manipulation, stating, “Alaskans deserve the honest truth from Mary and her campaign—what has been revealed is a pattern of lies and cover‑ups that belongs nowhere in our elections.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune echoed the sentiment on Fox News, calling the scheme “unprecedented” and warning that “this isn’t over.”
Both Murkowski and Thune emphasized that any attempt to rig an election by inserting a candidate designed solely to confuse voters is an affront to the democratic process and must be fully accountable.
Legal Relief Sought
The Justice Department’s revised prayer for relief asks a federal judge to declare that certifying any result tainted by the second Sullivan would violate the National Voter Registration Act and the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. The government seeks an injunction barring state officials from certifying any Senate outcome where Sen. Dan Sullivan would have won had votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been attributed to the incumbent under Alaska’s ranked‑choice system.
The filing underscores the Trump administration’s commitment to safeguarding elections from deceptive tactics, reinforcing the principle that every voter’s choice must be clear and unambiguous.
Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.
