Alaska has two Dan Sullivans on its Senate ballot, and Washington wants the results blocked
The Justice Department says voters could pick the wrong Dan Sullivan, but legal experts expect the early challenge to fail.
Reuters World News · US Starlink requests, Alaska's Senate race and Serbia's electionsPicture an Alaska voter leaning over a ballot next month and finding the same name twice. Two Dan Sullivans, listed one after the other, separated only by a middle initial.
The first is Dan S. Sullivan, the Republican incumbent senator. The second is Dan J. Sullivan Jr., a former teacher challenging him. State officials have tried to make the difference clear on the ballot. The incumbent will appear with his middle initial and be identified as the Republican incumbent, while the challenger will appear with his different middle initial and without a party label next to his name.
That ballot is now at the center of an extraordinary fight over a Senate seat. With voting still over a week away, the Trump administration has sued to preemptively block Alaska's election results. The Justice Department argues that voters could be confused by the two nearly identical names and cast ballots for the wrong man.
Jan Wolfe, a legal reporter who covers the courts, says the lawsuit is unprecedented. Federal officials are asking a judge for preemptive relief, effectively seeking to stop the results before any votes have been counted.
The timing alone creates problems for Washington. With voting so close, the judge assigned to the case could simply not rule before the votes are in. Legal reporter Jan Wolfe said, "A judge could also dismiss the case without prejudice," which would allow the government to refile later and argue instead that the issue should be raised closer to certification, when results are made official.
Wolfe says the concern about confusion is real, though it has likely been tempered because so many Alaskans have now read about the saga. Still, he notes, that is not the question a judge will decide. The judge will decide whether the Trump administration has pointed to relief available under federal law.
Legal experts expect the case will be dismissed, Wolfe says. Alaska's courts, which have authority over how names appear on the state's ballot, have already considered the matter.
For now, Alaskans will still see two Dan Sullivans when they vote. What happens to those votes may be decided in court after they are cast.
Questions people ask
How does voting work in Alaska's Senate race?
Alaska uses ranked choice voting for general elections for Senate and House, along with an open primary where the top four candidates advance. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no one wins a majority of first choice votes, the lowest finisher is eliminated and those ballots go to voters' next choices. The system was adopted by voters in 2020 and first used in 2022.
What does it mean to dismiss a case without prejudice?
A dismissal without prejudice means the case is thrown out for now but can be brought again later. Courts often use it when a claim is premature or filed in the wrong forum. In this context, it would let the Justice Department refile closer to certification, after votes are counted.
Who normally decides disputes about names on a ballot?
States generally run their own elections, including ballot design, candidate qualification, and counting and certification of votes, under the Constitution and state law. Federal courts can intervene in cases involving federal voting rights or constitutional violations, but judges are often reluctant to order changes close to an election. That is why Alaska courts are seen as having the primary authority here.