Alaska's Same-Name Senate Trick Looks Dirty but No Lawyer Has Named a Law It Breaks
Lawyers say they cannot point to an Alaska law the plan would break, even as the governor seeks a review and the Justice Department sues over certification.
Up First from NPR · Final Days Of Midterm Campaigning, Alaska Senate Race Controversy, Iran War PlansIn Alaska, recruiting a candidate with your opponent's exact name in hopes voters pick the wrong person may be dirty politics, but lawyers who follow state elections have not been able to name a law it would break.
The fight is over this year's U.S. Senate race, where Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, is trying to unseat Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. In May, a retired teacher also named Dan Sullivan filed to run. Republicans denounced the move as an attempt to mislead people into picking the wrong Sullivan. Peltola, along with Democratic organizations, said they had no link to the new filer.
The New York Times later reported an elaborate recruitment effort by Democrats to place that second Sullivan into the Senate race. That newspaper's account, which NPR has not confirmed, comes from a fired Peltola campaign manager who says Peltola knew and points to texts as support. Peltola, the Democratic challenger, said: "I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent." She added, "I am not interested in tricking voters."
The complaint from Republicans centers on confusion in a ranked-choice election, in which voters rank candidates rather than choosing only one. Their concern is that voters could mark the wrong Sullivan.
Alaska law, as described by election law expert Scott Kendall, looks at whether a person may run, not at what led him to file. Kendall said the behavior laid out in the newspaper's account violated moral and ethical standards but remains allowed. As he put it, "it's dirty, nasty business, but it's not illegal."
The ballot lists the two men differently: one as Dan S., Republican incumbent, and the other as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. Separately, Adam Lees, a nonpartisan voter from Anchorage, offered his view that voters can tell the Sullivans apart, saying, "I think voters are intelligent and can figure out which Dan Sullivan is their person."
President Trump says Peltola should face criminal charges, the Justice Department is suing to block certification if Sullivan narrowly loses, and the governor has sought a state review of whether any laws were broken. So far, no lawyer has named a law the plan would break.
Questions people ask
How does ranked-choice voting work?
In a ranked-choice election, voters rank candidates in order of preference rather than picking only one. If no one gets a majority of first choices, the last-place finisher is removed and those ballots count toward those voters' next choices until someone has a majority.
Has a same-name decoy ever changed an election result?
This report does not document a case where a same-name decoy changed the outcome. It describes Republican fears that voters could choose the wrong Sullivan, and one voter's view that people will tell them apart. On this source alone, there is no proven example of a changed result.
What would the Justice Department lawsuit actually do?
The Justice Department is suing to block certification of the Alaska election if Senator Sullivan narrowly loses. Large excerpts from the Times report are part of that lawsuit. Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee oppose the suit and describe it as interference in the election.