Sample ballot lists ‘Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.’ without party affiliation, ‘Sullivan, Dan S.’ as ‘(Registered Republican) Incumbent’

Petersburg challenger with same name as incumbent senator is a registered Republican, says he wants to be listed as ‘Sullivan, Dan J.’

A poriton of a sample ballot for Alaska’s U.S. Senate race published by the Alaska Division of Elections at its website on Monday.

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

This is a developing story.

While Dan J. Sullivan will be on the ballot for the U.S. Senate race in Alaska after a state Supreme Court ruling on Monday, the legal challenges about how he appears may not be over yet.

The Alaska Division of Elections posted a sample ballot late Monday that lists the retired Petersburg teacher as "Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr." and does not list a political party affiliation, although he is a registered Republican. The other 15 candidates on the ballot all have party affiliations listed.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is seeking a third term, is listed as "Sullivan, Dan S. (Registered Republican) Incumbent."

Sample ballots at the division’s website from several past elections do not show candidates for federal office listed as incumbents.

The sample ballot defies how the Petersburg challenger said he wants to be listed — as Sullivan, Dan. J — and the arguments made by his attorney during the Supreme Court hearing that elections officials were exceeding their authority. The state during the hearing proposed using both Dan J. Sullivan’s full name and listing him as nonpartisan despite previously acknowledging his registration as a Republican.

Dan J. Sullivan’s attorney, Jeffrey Robinson, in an email to the Juneau Independent on Tuesday morning, did not specifically state whether the ballot listing was acceptable.

"Mr. Sullivan has been buoyed by yesterday’s decisive victory at the Alaska Supreme Court," Robinson wrote. "To the extent that the Division of Elections is still grappling with how it will properly effectuate ballot design in a manner consistent with Alaska law and past practice, he has no comment, and looks forward to running his campaign."

State Division of Elections officials said they needed a final ruling in the case by noon Tuesday in order to print ballots as scheduled. A spokesperson at the Division of Elections declined to comment Tuesday morning about the online sample wording on the ballot and if it might be altered before printing occurs. As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, the wording of the sample ballot at the website was unchanged.

The state Supreme Court, in an abbreviated ruling, stated "This matter is remanded for the Division of Elections to determine…how appellee Sullivan shall be listed as a candidate within the confines of existing Alaska ballot design law."

State regulations declare a middle initial should be used to distinguish candidates with the same first and last names. However, the elections division, in a legal brief, argued a middle initial wasn’t enough of a difference to distinguish the two candidates.

“Two identical names, differing only by one letter, would be confusing and misleading to voters and run the risk of voters inadvertently selecting the candidate they did not intend to vote for," the brief states.

Dan J. Sullivan was decertified as a candidate on June 15 by the elections division, which alleged his candidacy existed only to confuse voters. The Petersburg resident has denied that accusation.

The Supreme Court upheld a judge’s order on Friday that Dan J. Sullivan be placed back on the ballot because the state cannot consider a candidate’s motives in determining if they are a legitimate candidate.

Both Sen. Dan Sullivan and Republican party officials who supported the state’s removal of Sullivan expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court’s ruling, but optimism about the ability of the elections division to determine how the challenger’s name will appear.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.