Alaska governor orders probe into alleged Peltola campaign ballot scheme

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered the state Department of Public Safety to investigate allegations that Democrats tried to recruit a Senate candidate who shares the Republican incumbent’s name, BBC News reported on 29 October. The order asks whether Alaska law was broken and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted; it is an investigation, not a finding of wrongdoing.

Dunleavy said he acted after a New York Times report about efforts to bring retired teacher Dan Sullivan into the race against incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan. He said the evidence gathered would determine what happens next. The alleged effort has become a dispute over whether a second Sullivan on the ballot could confuse voters in the Senate contest.

What the ballot dispute concerns

Peltola’s campaign said it had no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also denied involvement, according to BBC News and the Associated Press. The retired teacher has denied contact with Peltola’s campaign; AP reported that he said in June he was running independently. Those denials are material to the question Dunleavy has asked state officials to examine.

The Alaska Supreme Court had already rejected an effort to remove the retired teacher from the ballot, BBC News reported. His continued candidacy therefore remains a separate issue from the governor’s newly ordered inquiry into the reported recruitment effort.

A separate federal ballot lawsuit

The dispute has also prompted federal litigation. AP reported that the Justice Department, acting at President Donald Trump’s direction, filed a lawsuit seeking to halt certification of a possible Peltola victory because the second Sullivan appears on the ballot. Legal experts told AP that the Times report would have no impact on that case. The lawsuit and Dunleavy’s order address different questions; neither establishes that Peltola or her campaign committed an offence.