Dan J. Sullivan, a 70-year-old retired teacher from Petersburg, can stay on the Aug. 18 primary ballot after Anchorage Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews ruled Friday that the Alaska Division of Elections must place him there. The decision gives the state race a fast-moving path to the Alaska Supreme Court before ballots must be printed by noon Tuesday.
Matthews said the Division’s decision to exclude Sullivan rested on a “good-faith” requirement that does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, the Alaska Statutes, or the implementing regulations adopted by the Division. He also wrote that the director’s claim that Sullivan sought to confuse or misguide voters was not supported by a preponderance of evidence.
Dan J. Sullivan case
Dan J. Sullivan appealed to the Superior Court on Monday after the Alaska Division of Elections rejected his bid earlier this month. The Division acted after receiving formal complaints from the Alaska Republican Party, which joined the National Republican Senatorial Committee in alleging that Democrats had encouraged him to run against U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Jeffrey Robinson, who represented Dan J. Sullivan, argued that he met all qualifications in the U.S. Constitution to run for office. Robinson also said state regulations call for the use of middle initials to distinguish candidates in situations like these, a point that went to the heart of the dispute over whether two men with the same name could appear on the same ballot.
Carol Beecher decision
Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher determined that Dan J. Sullivan’s declaration of candidacy was not filed in good faith. State attorneys said it was unprecedented to have two similarly named candidates running for the same seat, and they argued that he was trying deliberately to confuse voters by seeking the Republican nomination against Dan Sullivan, who is running for his third term.
Dan J. Sullivan denied that he was trying to trick voters. He said he was running because the senator has done a poor job serving Alaskans.
Alaska Supreme Court appeal
Judge Thomas Matthews agreed this week to expedite a decision because of “great public interest.” On Thursday, attorneys for both sides presented oral arguments in a hearing that was live-streamed on Zoom, and Rachel Witty asked for a “rapid decision” so the case could move to the Alaska Supreme Court.
That timetable now matters because ballots must be printed by noon Tuesday. If the ruling is appealed, the Alaska Supreme Court may have to decide whether the ballots can move forward with Dan J. Sullivan’s name on them before the printing deadline closes the case out.
