Alaska’s Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher has officially determined that Alaska candidate Daniel J. Sullivan of Petersburg is barred from challenging Sen. Dan Sullivan in the U.S. Senate race.
The June 15 ruling concludes that Daniel Sullivan’s declaration of candidacy was not filed in good faith to pursue the office but instead appears intended to confuse or mislead voters by mimicking the incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan.
The decision follows two complaints filed by attorney Stacey Stone on behalf of Alaska Republican Party Chair Carmela Warfield. On June 10, the Division notified Sullivan of the complaints and gave him until 5 p.m. on June 11 to submit additional evidence supporting his eligibility. He provided none.
Beecher’s letter states that Alaska Statute 15.25.060 requires the Division to place properly filed candidates on the primary ballot. However, 6 AAC 25.212 prohibits names or filings that are confusing or misleading to voters or that compromise the fairness or neutrality of the ballot. After reviewing the complaints and Division records, Beecher found the preponderance of evidence showed Sullivan’s filing did not meet these standards.
The determination rests on four key facts. First, Sullivan requested ballot access under the name “Dan Sullivan,” although Division records show he is registered to vote as “Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr.” and had never previously used or sought access under the shortened name. He initially emailed the Division requesting to be listed as “Dan S. Sullivan,” adopting the middle initial of the incumbent. Beecher concluded this choice suggested an effort to blur distinctions with Senator Sullivan rather than to present a clearly separate candidacy.
Second, Sullivan designated “Republican” as his party affiliation. Records indicate he had never been affiliated with the Republican Party in Alaska until changing his registration just two days before filing his declaration. The incumbent senator is a Republican. The timing of adopting both the name style and party affiliation of the sitting senator, Beecher wrote, strongly indicated an intent was merely to confuse voters.
Third, Daniel Sullivan’s campaign website, sullivanforsenate.com, uses a format, color scheme, and overall theme similar to the incumbent’s site, dansullivanforalaska.com. While the Division takes no position on intellectual property questions, the similarity appears deliberate when viewed alongside the other facts.
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Fourth, a political consultant working with Daniel Sullivan’s campaign is a well-known longtime supporter of Democratic candidates, including the primary Democratic challenger to Sen. Dan Sullivan. In combination with the name, party, and website similarities, this reinforced the conclusion of a deliberate attempt to use name similarity to confuse primary voters.
Beecher described the circumstances as “unique, and to my knowledge utterly unprecedented facts,” unlike any previously presented to the Division. She concluded that the sworn declaration stating Daniel Sullivan was a candidate for U.S. Senate “was not filed in good faith for the purpose of genuinely pursuing election as Alaska’s U.S. Senator.” Instead, it was filed to confuse or mislead the electorate and compromise ballot fairness.
As a result, the Division has de-certified Daniel Sullivan’s candidacy and will not place his name on the primary ballot. Ballots are scheduled to be printed on June 28. Daniel Sullivan has 30 days to appeal the final determination by seeking judicial relief in Alaska Superior Court. The letter was copied to Lt. Governor Nancy Dahlstrom.
10 Comments
Leftists will stop at nothing to win.
What, our Alaska Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom is finally working for Alaska now.
Good news, now we just need to get Rid of Lisa.
This decision should trouble every Alaskan, regardless of party.
The Division of Elections did not simply clarify the ballot. It removed a citizen from the people’s ballot after complaints from Alaska Republican Party leadership. That is a dangerous precedent.
If the problem was voter confusion, the remedy was simple: list full legal names, middle initials, hometowns, occupations, and clearly identify the incumbent where allowed by law. Give the voters better information. Do not take away their choice.
What bothers me most is the arrogance behind this. It appears the political establishment thinks Alaska voters are too stupid to know which Dan Sullivan they intend to vote for. I reject that. Alaskans can read. Alaskans can think. Alaskans can choose.
The State’s final determination appears to go beyond ordinary eligibility and into judging a candidate’s political motive, party history, website, consultant, and “good faith” intent. That is not a small thing. Once government officials can remove a candidate because they decide he is not a “real” candidate, every outsider candidate is at risk.
Today it is Daniel J. Sullivan. Tomorrow it could be any citizen who makes an incumbent, party boss, or national committee uncomfortable.
Election integrity means protecting the voter’s right to choose, not protecting incumbents from confusion, competition, or embarrassment.
The Lt. Governor and Division of Elections should release every complaint, email, text, legal memo, phone log, and communication involving the Alaska Republican Party, NRSC, Senator Sullivan’s campaign, the Attorney General’s office, and the Division of Elections.
The people own the ballot. Not the incumbent. Not the party. Not Juneau. Not Washington, D.C.
Liberty Ed
I agree with you on many of these points. However, it was reported elsewhere that Republican Party rules stipulate that to run as a Republican, one must be registered as a Republican at the time he files to run for office. This appears to me to be the strongest ground -perhaps the only legal ground- for disqualifying the other Dan Sullivan: that he was not, in fact, a registered Republican when he filed to run as one.
When the fellow from Petersburg filed originally, he tried to use a different middle initial, one that matched the sitting Senator’s. I think that puts the lie to your assertion that since we can read, we would know the difference. He was denied using that initial because, get this, he was lying, and it wasn’t his legal name. I don’t think it matters who produced the complaint. This guy was pulling a fast one and got caught.
The actual problem was FRAUDULENT INTENT, not “clarity”. The director examined the facts and acted for the benefit of the people Alaska.
Alaskans can read. Alaskans can think. Alaskans can choose.
AND Alaska ranks LAST in education
https://americadashboard.com/rankings/education
You’re asking me to believe that he is a legitimate candidate? Nobody is buying that. I bet you don’t even believe it.
Thank you for clearly listing out the reasons used to justify removing Daniel Sullivan from the ballot. I find them to be very logical and carefully considered. One reason on its own, or perhaps even two, would have me concerned about Republican Party interference. All of them together, though, paint a clear picture of actual intention.
That’s too bad. Now potential candidates can be ousted for what their intent was. I hope he comes back next election cycle with a great campaign.