The story of the second Dan Sullivan on Alaska’s 2026 general election ballot has been a whirlwind story, which seemingly concluded with the Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling that Daniel J. Sullivan from Petersburg must be allowed on the ballot, and the Alaska Division of Elections can take steps to avoid voter confusion. However, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Alaska Division of Elections are now in a legal battle about the same issue with the United States arguing that apparently Alaskan voters cannot figure out who’s who on the ballot.
The Division of Elections initially sought to refuse certification of Petersburg Dan, alleging his intent was to confuse voters, not to legitimately run for office. The Division had ample evidence of this intent to confuse: he had registered Republican last minute, copied the incumbent’s campaign materials, and tried to put the Senator’s middle initial as his own. The Alaska Superior Court did not rule that Petersburg Dan’s motive was sincere, but instead ruled that the Division lacked legal authority to impose a “good-faith” requirement not found in the U.S. Constitution, Alaska law, or its own regulations. The decision was challenged in the Alaska Supreme Court, which affirmed the Superior Court ruling. In other words, the motive did not matter to the Court. Anyone can run for office whatever their motive is as long as they meet the explicit legal requirements.
In response, the Division certified the ballot with key differences to distinguish Petersburg Dan from the incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan: Petersburg Dan appears as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.” and Senator Sullivan appears as “Sullivan, Dan S. (Registered Republican) Incumbent.”
Petersburg Dan received a mere 2.4% of the votes in the primary election, but advanced to the general election due to ranked-choice voting top four rules. Democrat Mary Peltola pulled the most votes with 48% followed by incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan with 42.8%.
Despite a lack of evidence of any voter accidentally voting for Petersburg Dan instead of Senator Sullivan in the primary election, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the State of Alaska and the Alaska Division of Elections, asking the Court to pre-emptively rule that the Alaska Division of Election may not certify the election results if “(1) Senator Sullivan does not win the election; and (2) had all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been cast instead for Senator Sullivan and Alaska’s rank-choice process played out accordingly, Senator Sullivan would have won the election.”
The Division of Elections responded with a motion to dismiss, arguing that “the Division has taken significant steps to distinguish
them on the ballot so that voters can easily determine which candidate is which” and that the United States lacks both evidence of harm and authority to intervene in the Alaska’s elections.
Alaska’s Division of Elections initially removed Petersburg Dan from the primary ballot, concerned about voter confusion. The Superior Court ordered him back on the ballot, finding a lack of legal ground for exclusion based on motive. The Supreme Court seconded this, and the Division of Elections responded with appropriate measures to ensure election integrity on both grounds: access to the ballot without government scrutiny of motive and distinguishing factors to avoid voter confusion.
The story should have ended there. Now, the United States has filed a lawsuit that effectively argues that Alaskans voters are so ill-informed or irresponsible that they will sway the election by accidentally voting for “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.” when they intended to vote for “Sullivan, Dan S. (registered Republican) Incumbent.” Additionally, the lawsuit implies that anyone voting for Peterburg Dan actually meant to vote for Senator Sullivan— an erroneous assumption.
The ballot is set. Alaskans, it is time to get out and cast your vote. Must Read Alaska recommends voting for Senator Dan S. Sullivan because of his proven record. Let’s re-elect Senator Sullivan fairly and squarely. And let’s repeal ranked-choice voting by voting YES ON 2, so primary candidates like Petersburg Dan that receive 2.4% of the votes do not advance to our general election ballot.
And to the U.S. Department of Justice, regarding this case, Alaskan conservatives do not need your patronizing lawsuit. We, the people, own our elections. We, the people, bear the responsibility to make intentional, informed voting decisions. And that is exactly what we will do.
