Prosecutors Seek to Set Aside Alaska Ballots in Senate Name Case

The top federal prosecutor in Alaska confirmed Friday that a criminal investigation is underway into a Senate ballot listing a candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said the probe has run for several months but that reporting this week about Democratic candidate Mary Peltola's campaign drew new resources to the state.

Heyman declined to name potential crimes or targets but said his office would act on credible information. "When credible information comes out, we are committed to pursuing that information to deceive voters and we will act on it. We are acting on it intensely and swiftly," he said.

The investigation follows reporting that Peltola's campaign appeared to work with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to recruit Dan J. Sullivan onto the ballot. That reporting brought a surge of law enforcement resources to Alaska, Heyman said. Federal prosecutors issued dozens of grand jury subpoenas and records preservation requests this week, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the Associated Press.

Peltola denied knowledge of any recruitment effort at a campaign rally Thursday in Juneau. "I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent. That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters," she said. Dan J. Sullivan has said he had no contact with Peltola's campaign, stating in June, "Zero, none, zilch."

The Department of Justice filed a civil suit last week asking a court to block certification of the Alaska Senate race if Republican Dan Sullivan loses. In a Friday filing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson asked that ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan be preserved and separated. "These modest precautionary measures will be impossible after Election Day, so there is good cause for expedited consideration," the filing states. The government also filed a list of questions it wants the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to answer about recruiting the second Sullivan.

The Alaska filing follows a Ninth Circuit ruling that rejected the department's request to set aside disputed ballots in California. The department had sought information on about 20,000 people it contends may not be U.S. citizens; California officials called the list unreliable and said it likely includes many citizens.

State attorneys have asked a court to rule on the department's lawsuit by Monday, saying delay could "cast a cloud over Alaska's election that is contrary to the public interest." Alaska election officials have taken steps to distinguish the two Sullivans on the ballot, and state attorneys argue the ranked-choice system addresses confusion concerns.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, ordered a state investigation into Peltola. He said reporting "reveals disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska's elections by recruiting candidates" and that it "substantially supports" earlier findings by the state elections board. President Trump said Thursday he doubted whether Peltola could be seated even if she won, telling reporters, "It's hard to believe that she could even be allowed to run."

The contest is one of several Senate races this year that could determine control of the chamber. Trump had earlier directed the Justice Department to sue to block certification should Peltola defeat the incumbent.