Justice Department asks judge to set aside Alaska ballots that rank Dan J. Sullivan

The Justice Department asked a federal judge on Friday to order Alaska election officials, before Monday, to keep separate every ballot that ranks Senate candidate Dan J. Sullivan, as the government investigates his candidacy ¹.

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward wrote that the state should "preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary" ¹.

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Woodward added that "These modest precautionary measures will be impossible after Election Day, so there is good cause for expedited consideration" ¹. The filing did not describe how reviewing a ballot would show whether a voter was confused, NBC News reported ¹.

Alaska uses ranked choice voting, in which voters list candidates in order of preference, and four candidates are in the Senate race ¹. The ballot lists the incumbent, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, as the Republican and the incumbent, while Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher, has no party affiliation listed ².

From Channel GOPPeltola: Tariffs doubled Alaska air taxi's parts billMary Peltola · 142 plays · captioned, with the source named

The request follows a New York Times report this week that Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign was involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan, a former school teacher, to run against the Republican senator ¹. Peltola has denied any involvement in Sullivan's campaign ¹.

The state case has moved on a separate track. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, on Wednesday ordered the Department of Public Safety to "investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska's laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted" ².

On tapeFOX 29 Philadelphia · Oct 30

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Dunleavy said in an interview on NewsNation on Thursday that the probe "may, in fact, impact whether somebody is seated in the U.S. Senate" ². A Peltola campaign spokesperson said: "Dunleavy's threat to overrule the will of Alaskan voters exemplifies what Alaskans hate about partisan politics and shows why he's the least popular governor in the country" ².

At a campaign stop in Juneau, Peltola told supporters she knew nothing about the other Sullivan and was not interested in tricking voters ².

Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Dan Sullivan's campaign, said after the Times report that "Alaskans deserve the truth" and that "Mary Peltola and her campaign have spent months gaslighting Alaskans, denying a scheme they were running all along" ².

The Peltola campaign said it "has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign" ². A spokesperson for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, the party's Senate campaign arm, said it "is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan" ².

The pattern is that federal and state inquiries are now running at the same time, days before voting ends, over a race Alaskans will decide by ranking four names ¹².

The Record

1. Oct 28, 2026Gov. Mike Dunleavy orders the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether the Peltola campaign scheme violated Alaska law ²
2. Oct 29, 2026Dunleavy says on NewsNation that the probe may affect whether someone is seated in the U.S. Senate ²
3. Oct 30, 2026The Justice Department asks a federal judge to order Alaska to segregate ballots ranking Dan J. Sullivan before Monday ¹

Sources

1. NBC News, “Justice Department requests separating Alaska ballots that rank Dan J. Sullivan in Senate race” (2026-10-30). nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/doj-requests-separating-a
2. CBS News, “Alaska gov. orders probe into Peltola over 2nd Dan Sullivan on ballot” (2026-10-30). cbsnews.com/news/trump-peltola-dan-sullivan-alaska-senate/

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