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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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Democratic Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola's team has dismissed as "nonsense" Justice Department claims that her campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) deliberately misled the court about Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.'s true motives for entering the race.
The Justice Department last week sued to block Alaska from certifying the election result if incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan loses because of alleged "voter confusion" potentially arising from two Dan Sullivans appearing on the ballot. An amended filing on Thursday cited allegations reported by The New York Times that operatives aligned with Peltola recruited the same-name challenger, a retired teacher and fishing enthusiast who was not a member of the GOP until filing his candidacy, to draw votes away from the incumbent.
In the new filing, the situation is described as a "conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the electoral process."
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Peltola, who has been leading all polls conducted this month by a narrow margin, has denied being involved in the reported efforts to recruit the candidate. According to the New York Times' main source, Peltola's former campaign manager and longtime aide Elisa Rios, the Democratic candidate was not involved in the efforts to stack the ballot but was "definitely aware."
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In a legal document filed Thursday by Peltola's team and the DSCC, her team said that they "did not have knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny an allegation about Daniel J. Sullivan's mental state—whether he filed to run 'with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot's fairness or neutrality.'
"The only one who could possibly know Daniel J. Sullivan's true reasons for filing as a candidate is Daniel J. Sullivan, and Alaskans for Mary and DSCC's statement that they could not admit or deny that allegation was entirely proper."
They said that the Justice Department's accusations that Peltola's team had misled the court was "nonsense," adding that the federal government "points fingers at Alaskans for Mary and DSCC to distract from its own misconduct in this case."
Allegations Spur Wave of Investigations
Despite Peltola's team's pushback, the New York Times' reporting has turbocharged the debate around Sullivan Jr.'s candidacy and Democrats' alleged role in putting him on the ballot.
The Justice Department began issuing a new round of grand jury subpoenas Thursday seeking testimony or documents following the reporting, while also sending demands to preserve records, the AP reported, citing a person briefed on the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity. The subpoenas target several Democratic officials who are believed to have taken part in efforts to recruit Sullivan Jr. to appear on the ballot, CBS News reported.
The Justice Department has not publicly disclosed what potential federal offenses it is examining.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, also ordered a separate investigation into Peltola's campaign on Thursday. He announced the probe in a social media post which described the New York Times' allegations as "disturbing," adding he directed "the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted."
He added: "The evidence will determine what happens next. Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support. Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections." Anyone or any organization found to have broken the law, Dunleavy said, "must be held accountable."
Alaska Department of Public Safety Deputy Commissioner Austin McDaniel told Newsweek on Thursday that the Alaska Bureau of Investigation had initiated an investigation into the alleged conduct described by the Times.
Even if Peltola's team is found guilty of recruiting Sullivan Jr. to siphon votes away from the incumbent, however, it is not clear if this would violate any criminal law. Ballot stacking, as it is known, is not illegal in the U.S. at the federal level, where it is actually quite common. State authorities have also not publicly established that recruiting a candidate to draw votes from an opponent would, by itself, constitute a crime.
Previous attempts to remove Sullivan Jr. from the ballot have also failed. The Alaska Division of Elections concluded earlier this year that his candidacy was intended to confuse or mislead voters, but a Superior Court judge reversed the decision, finding that election officials could not impose a "good faith" requirement on candidates. The Alaska Supreme Court upheld that ruling on June 29, ordering the Division of Elections to include Sullivan Jr. on the primary ballot.
He is currently listed without a party affiliation as "Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.," while "Dan Sullivan" is listed as a "Republican" and clearly identified as the "incumbent." Sullivan Jr. changed his registration from Republican to "undeclared" when he requested an absentee ballot for the August primary, according to records from the Alaska Division of Elections reported by the Alaska Beacon.
A ‘Distraction’ from DOJ’s ‘Meritless’ Claim, Peltola’s Team Says
Peltola's team also accused the Justice Department of failing to address the "fatal problems" in its lawsuits, which it said "preclude it from bringing this case or obtaining the relief that it seeks."
Peltola's team said there was "nothing in these new allegations" that changes the Justice Department's "utter lack of any legal claim, any legal authority to bring this case, or any entitlement to the relief it seeks."
It added that the allegations "are a distraction from DOJ's meritless claims, and they provide no basis for DOJ's demand that the Court enjoin certification if there is a narrow Peltola victory, so that DOJ can interrogate voters who say they voted for Daniel J. Sullivan about whether they perhaps meant to vote for the President’s endorsee, Senator Sullivan, instead."
Michael Morley, a professor of law at Florida State University, told Newsweek that the Justice Department's lawsuit is "completely meritless."
"The DOJ sued under the National Voter Registration Act but does not even allege that the statute has been violated here. Rather, the DOJ is claiming that allowing the election’s results to be impacted by a sham candidacy would undermine the law’s purpose. That’s not a valid basis for suing," he said.
What The Candidates Are Saying
Peltola's campaign told Newsweek on Thursday that the Democratic candidate was not involved in any effort to deceive Alaska voters.
"Mary got in this race because Alaskans deserve a champion who is fighting to lower their costs and put Alaska first, and no tweet or threat from any politician will keep her away from that fight," an Alaskans for Mary spokesperson told Newsweek. "The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign."
Sullivan Jr. has not responded to Newsweek's request for comment after saying last week that the Justice Department's lawsuit "was a surprise" to him and he needed "some time to understand what it means." He has previously maintained that he entered the race independently because he was unhappy with Senator Sullivan's representation.
"It's a free country," he said after courts restored him to the ballot earlier this year, according to Courthouse News Service. "Most Alaskans are proud Independents and it's my sincere hope that people know who and what they are voting for but ultimately, choice is good and voters' intent will be as varied as the candidates who are running."
Senator Sullivan's campaign, on the other hand, has accused Peltola and her campaign of misleading voters about Sullivan Jr.'s candidacy.
"Mary Peltola and her campaign have spent months gaslighting Alaskans, denying a scheme they were running all along," spokesperson Nate Adams previously told Newsweek.
Mary Peltola vs. Dan Sullivan: What Latest Polls Show
Peltola has been leading all polls conducted this month, even though by a narrow margin over the incumbent. A poll released by progressive pollster Data for Progress and conducted between October 8 and October 16 among 675 likely voters gave her a +3 net margin over the incumbent in the first round and a +2 net margin in the final round.
A *New York Times/*Siena University poll conducted September 24-October 1 found Peltola ahead 50 percent to 43 percent among 504 likely voters. An InsiderAdvantage poll conducted October 9-10 found Peltola leading 50 percent to 48 percent among 1,200 likely voters.
If she pulls through the chaos created by the allegations to win the race, she would give Democrats one of the four seats they need to win control of the Senate, where Republicans now hold a narrow 53-47 majority.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Emma Lee-Sang
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