Alaska Court Rules on Senate Candidate’s Ballot Status
The Alaska Republican Party faced a significant setback when a court decided to keep a Senate challenger on the ballot. The Superior Court of Alaska, Third Judicial District, ruled that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., challenging incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan, must remain on the U.S. Senate primary ballot.
Judge Thomas Matthews determined that the Alaska Department of Elections had unlawfully enforced a “bona fide” requirement regarding J. Sullivan’s candidacy, a mandate which isn’t specified in the U.S. Constitution, Alaska law, or relevant voting regulations.
J. Sullivan, at 69, a retired teacher, registered as a Republican earlier this year and entered the race shortly before the May 29 filing deadline.
In response to this situation, both the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Alaska Republican Party lodged complaints with the Federal Election Commission and local election officials.
After Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom requested an investigation into J. Sullivan’s eligibility, Elections Director Carol Beecher concluded that he was not eligible due to his failure to present a legitimate “bona fide” candidacy. This decision was based on concerns that he intended to mislead voters by having two candidates with similar names on the ballot.
There are suggestions of J. Sullivan possibly collaborating with Democratic operatives, which stirred up comments from Senator S. Sullivan, who called the candidacy a “cheating” tactic by Democrats.
After appealing the department’s ruling, Judge Matthews sided with J. Sullivan and noted that he fulfilled all constitutional eligibility criteria. Therefore, he argued, the state couldn’t impose additional criteria on J. Sullivan’s candidacy.
Matthews emphasized that the application of the “good faith” test by the Division lacked a legal foundation, asserting, “The division’s decision to exclude Mr. Sullivan from the primary ballot has no legal basis.” He rationalized that ballot designs could mitigate voter confusion rather than outright exclusion of candidates.
The state has appealed this decision to the Alaska Supreme Court, with hearings set for Monday. If the high court does not intervene, J. Sullivan will be on Alaska’s bipartisan primary ballot come August 18.
