A Superior Court judge says the Alaska Division of Elections was wrong to disqualify Petersburg retiree Dan Sullivan as a challenger to U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Judge Thomas Matthews said the decision to drop the candidate “was based upon a new, previously unstated, ‘good-faith’ criteria” that’s not in the Constitution or state law.
“In addition, the (Division of Elections) Director's assertion that Mr. Sullivan seeks to confuse or misguide voters is not supported by a preponderance of evidence,” the judge wrote in a 32-page decision issued Friday night. “Instead, the Division accepted at face-value the assertions of the complaint, and disregarded Mr. Sullivan's assertions.”
The case is expected to be quickly appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court. The Division of Elections has said it has to begin printing ballots on Tuesday at noon.
Petersburg Sullivan, a retired teacher, shares a first and last name with Alaska’s incumbent senator, Dan S. Sullivan. The challenger, whose middle initial is J., said he filed to run because he’s dissatisfied with the incumbent.
The Republican Party of Alaska and the National Republican Senatorial Committee filed complaints to the Division of Elections.
The division booted the challenger from the ballot last week, saying his candidacy was filed in bad faith to purposely confuse voters. Elections Director Carol Beecher pointed to his decision to register and run as a Republican, which is the incumbent’s party, and that his campaign website looks similar to Sen. Sullivan’s, as well as his hiring of a consultant who has worked for Democrats.
The case highlights how crucial the Alaska race is as Republicans try to hold on to their Senate majority.
Sen. Sullivan and the Republican Party have claimed national Democratic leaders “recruited” the other Sullivan to run, and are cheating to benefit Democrat Mary Peltola. Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Party have denied involvement in the candidacy of Petersburg Dan Sullivan.
