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Judge rules state illegally removed Dan J. Sullivan from US Senate race
- Mark Sabbatini
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Alaska Supreme Court set to hear state’s appeal at 10 a.m. Monday, with a final resolution sought by noon on Tuesday so elections officials can print ballots
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Petersburg resident Dan J. Sullivan was illegally decertified as a U.S. Senate candidate by the Alaska Division of Elections, which claimed he was trying to confuse voters because he has the same name as the incumbent, state Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews ruled Friday.
Matthews, in his ruling, agreed with Dan J. Sullivan that the Alaska Division of Elections doesn’t have the legal authority to evaluate his motives when deciding if his candidacy is legitimate. The Petersburg resident denies his candidacy is intended to confuse voters, but argues it’s also not relevant when determining if he meets the constitutional requirements for the office.
"The Division's decision to exclude Mr. Sullivan from the primary ballot because it determined his declaration was not filed ‘in order to declare an actual good-faith candidacy for the office of United States Senator’ was not based upon the constitutional requirements of (state law) governing elections, or regulations promulgated by the Division," Matthews wrote in his ruling. "Instead, the decision was based upon a new, previously unstated, ‘good-faith’ criteria."
"In addition, the Director's assertion that Mr. Sullivan seeks to confuse or misguide voters is not supported by a preponderance of evidence. Instead, the Division accepted at face-value the assertions of the complaint, and disregarded Mr. Sullivan's assertions."
The state is appealing the ruling to the Alaska Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear the case via Zoom at 10 a.m. Monday. The state is being requested to submit its appeal brief by 5 p.m. Saturday, with Dan. J. Sullivan given until 2 p.m. Sunday to file a response. The hearing is scheduled to be livestreamed on Gavel Alaska.
Elections officials have stated the case need to be resolved by noon Tuesday in order for the state to print ballots as scheduled next week. The notice published by the Supreme Court states a decision is expected before that deadline.
Attempts by the Juneau Independent to reach attorneys representing the state in the case were not successful.
Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher decertified Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy on June 15, stating it was "filed with a purpose to confuse or mislead" voters into mistaking him for incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. Among the reasons she cited are the Petersburg resident filing as a Republican when he has never been a member of that party, hosting a campaign website with similar colors and some design elements as the incumbent, and hiring a political consultant who has been involved in Democratic campaigns in Alaska.
Chris Murray, an attorney representing the Division of Elections, stated during a court hearing Thursday that the state didn’t have the obligation to make the differences between two candidates with near-identical names clear on a ballot. He also argued allowing Dan J. Sullivan to compete would lead to more such instances.
"What do genuine political candidates do?" Murray asked the judge. "They try to distinguish themselves. They try to find any way to draw contrasts between themselves and the people that they are challenging. Why? Because they want to get enough votes to beat that person."
Dan J. Sullivan’s attorney, Jeffrey Robinson, argued during the hearing that "the Alaska Supreme Court has previously acknowledged that Alaska voters are savvy."
"They're well equipped to understand the dynamics of an open primary and to choose a qualified candidate," he said. Furthermore, the court noted "parties can warn voters about Trojan Horse candidates — those who might run under a party's banner, but do not share the party's values. The court further noted that Alaska voters are not easily fooled and that the Alaska Supreme Court has confidence in Alaskan voters' common sense."
Matthews, in his ruling, noted "Alaska Supreme Court precedent favors resolving any question about eligibility in Dan J Sullivan's favor." The judge cited a challenge by the Alaska Democratic Party to the elections division allowing Eric Hafner, a New York prison inmate, to be a U.S. House candidate.
The Alaska Supreme Court noted it "resolved the question in favor of allowing the candidate to appear on the ballot because of ‘our clear policy of favoring open access to the ballot’ where the ‘election code does not clearly prohibit it.’"
Matthews also noted the Alaska Division of Elections has methods to address concerns about voters being misled by candidates with the same first and last names.
"The Division may regulate the way a candidate's name appears on the ballot if the requested manner
is confusing or misleading," the judge wrote. "In fact, the Division has suggested such a clarification, by suggesting Mr. Sullivan's name to appear on the ballot as ‘Sullivan, Dan J. (Registered Republican)’ and the incumbent senator as ‘Sullivan, Dan (Registered Republican).’ The Division has even asked for clarification from the candidates themselves to avoid voter confusion."
"The Division may also design the ballot to facilitate fairness, simplicity, and clarity. But those tools are different from the complete exclusion of a candidate."
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
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