Alaska\u2019s highest court ruled that a same-name Republican challenger to Sen. Dan Sullivan can remain on the ballot, a decision an election expert says exposes glaring flaws in Alaska\u2019s ranked-choice voting system and top-four primary.
\nThe Alaska Supreme Court ruled Monday that Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, is eligible to appear on the Republican primary ballot alongside incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, affirming a lower court\u2019s decision keeping him on the ballot despite Republicans and the Division of Elections arguing that Dan J. Sullivan\u2019s candidacy is a \u201csham\u201d attempt orchestrated by Democratic operatives to potentially trip up voters and siphon off votes from the incumbent.
\n\u201cIt very clearly is an attempt to mislead voters,\u201d Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project, told Fox News Digital. \u201cWhen you look at the facts, they\u2019ve been pretty clearly established.\u201d
\nSnead pointed to Alaska\u2019s ranked choice voting (RCV) and jungle primary as especially vulnerable to any nefarious tactics with same-name candidates because, unlike a traditional partisan primary, Alaska advances the top four finishers from a single primary election to the general election, regardless of party.
\nDAN SULLIVAN ACCUSES SAME-NAME CHALLENGER OF TRYING TO \u2018RIG\u2019 ALASKA SENATE RACE<\/p>\n
Snead argued that under a conventional Republican primary, a candidate he described as a \u201cdecoy\u201d would be unlikely to eliminate a legitimate contender before the general election.
\nInstead, he said, voters face a crowded top-four primary ballot in this year\u2019s Alaska Senate race, roughly 16 candidates are running, and confusion over nearly identical names could have significant consequences.
\nGOP FIGHTS TO STOP MULTIPLE DAN SULLIVANS FROM APPEARING ON ALASKA BALLOT, CALLS CANDIDACY A \u2018SHAM\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve really got two problems in one,\u201d Snead said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have any party primary. There\u2019s no Republican nominee or Democratic nominee. You have this jungle primary where everybody runs together, and the top four candidates advance to the general election.\u201d
\nSnead argued that under a traditional partisan primary, a candidate he described as a decoy would have little chance of preventing a legitimate Republican nominee from advancing to the general election. Instead, he said, Alaska\u2019s crowded all-party primary creates more opportunities for voter confusion.
\n\u201cIf enough of them pick the wrong Dan Sullivan, then he makes it into the general,\u201d Snead said. \u201cNow you\u2019ve got two people named Dan Sullivan on the ballot.\u201d
\nSnead said the ranked-choice system can compound the problem because ballots are redistributed as candidates are eliminated.
\n\u201cIf you only rank one person, then your ballot is eliminated if that person is eliminated,\u201d he said.
\nALASKA\u2019S BLOCKBUSTER SENATE RACE THROWN INTO CHAOS AS SAME-NAME CHALLENGER FIGHTS DISQUALIFICATION IN COURT<\/p>\n
He said another possibility is that voters could mistakenly rank the wrong Dan Sullivan first and Democrat Mary Peltola second, causing those votes to transfer to Peltola if the decoy candidate is eliminated during tabulation.
\n\u201cThere are lots of different traps here,\u201d Snead said. \u201cAt a minimum, I think this speaks to the fact that ranked-choice voting plus jungle primaries is especially vulnerable to these sorts of games.\u201d
\n\u201cIt is definitely not an idea that is ready for prime time, no matter what the people that push ranked choice are trying to sell us on.\u201d
\nThe Alaska Supreme Court did stipulate that election officials could add additional identifying information to the ballot to distinguish between the two candidates, leaving those design decisions to the Division of Elections.
\nDan J. Sullivan, known to his critics as \u201cDecoy Dan,\u201d has come under scrutiny over ties to Democratic consultant Amber Lee, who was revealed as the author of his campaign launch announcement in metadata reviewed by Fox News Digital. Lee has notably supported Peltola\u2019s prior runs for office and expressed optimism to The Hill in January that the Alaska Democrat would unseat the incumbent Sullivan.<\/p>\n
According to Alaska Director of Elections Carol Beecher, Dan J. Sullivan requested to appear on the primary ballot under the name \u201cDan Sullivan\u201d despite previously registering as \u201cDaniel J. Sullivan, Jr.\u201d Beecher also noted that his campaign materials are visually similar to the incumbent Republican\u2019s campaign and that he had no affiliation with the GOP prior to jumping into the race shortly before the filing deadline.
\nThe fate of his candidacy could prove decisive in the state\u2019s hotly contested Senate race in which Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is seeking a third term in the Republican-leaning state. Democrats are hoping that former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, whom Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., helped recruit into the race, will unseat Sullivan in November.
\nIn a statement to Fox News Digital, Dan J. Sullivan\u2019s campaign said, \u201cMr. Sullivan has been buoyed by yesterday\u2019s decisive victory at the Alaska Supreme Court.\u00a0 To the extent that the Division of Elections is still grappling with how it will properly effectuate ballot design in a manner consistent with Alaska law and past practice, he has no comment, and looks forward to running his campaign.\u201d
\nFox News Digital\u2019s Adam Pack contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"