Justice Department seeks to isolate Alaska ballots in criminal investigation: NPR
Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola speaks during a campaign event Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Juneau, Alaska.
Chloe Anderson/AP
hide caption
Chloe Anderson/AP
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The U.S. Justice Department on Friday sought a court order to isolate some Alaska ballots to investigate possible voter confusion, while federal officials confirmed the existence of a criminal investigation into a Senate candidate who shares a name with the incumbent Republican president.
The dueling developments came days before Tuesday’s general election, in a race led by two-term Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola. This race is one of a handful nationwide expected to determine control of the Senate.
Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters in Anchorage that the investigation has been ongoing for several months, but recent revelations by The New York Times that Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in the recruitment of retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan have led to a “significant increase in law enforcement resources in Alaska.”
Separately, the Justice Department — in a lawsuit it filed last week — asked a judge to order state elections officials to isolate ballots ranking Dan J. Sullivan to investigate possible voter “confusion” with the senator. The owner of a boat dealership in the candidate’s hometown of Petersburg who donated to his campaign told The Associated Press that an FBI agent had visited the business and wanted to know whether he had been misled by Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy. He said no and that “everyone knows who the incumbent is.”
Assistant Alaska Attorney E. Bryan Wilson said in a filing that the government “sought to preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purpose of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary.”
The Justice Department also filed with the court a list of proposed questions it seeks to compel Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to answer as part of the civil case seeking to block certification of the Senate race if the outgoing president loses. President Donald Trump said he had asked the department to file a complaint.
State election officials made efforts to distinguish the two Sullivans on the ballot
A sample ballot is displayed in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday, October 23, 2026.
Havre Daley/AP
hide caption
Havre Daley/AP
Peltola denied Thursday any knowledge of the effort to put Dan J. Sullivan on the ballot: “I’m not interested in misleading voters,” she said.
Democrats, including the DSCC, have repeatedly denied involvement in any election fraud. Dan J. Sullivan has long denied running at the behest of Democrats.
Alaska’s request to segregate ballots comes after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Justice Department’s request for California to void disputed ballots received in the midterm elections sent to some 20,000 people who the administration says may not be U.S. citizens. California officials argued that the list was highly unreliable and most likely included many people who are U.S. citizens.
Justice Department lawyers handling the Alaska case said there is a “substantial risk” that Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy will “mislead voters and ultimately result in an election process lacking integrity.”
“To guard against this danger, the United States seeks an order directing Defendants to preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purpose of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation be necessary,” the filing states. He is asking for a decision by Monday.
In response, lawyers for the state questioned how segregation would be possible, writing that voters’ ballots are mixed in the ballot box on Election Day and that election workers could not separate the ballots classifying Dan J. Sullivan without violating vote secrecy protections. Separate or separate ballots would not reveal why voters voted for Dan J. Sullivan, they said.
They asked a judge to dismiss the case and said Alaska elections officials had already taken steps to distinguish the two Sullivans on the ballot. The senator is listed as Dan S. Sullivan, a Republican and incumbent, while the challenger is listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation. This is also how they appeared in the August open primary voting.
State lawyers also argued that Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system further addresses concerns about potential confusion by allowing voters to rank the two Sullivans.
The timing of Justice Department announcements is unusual
U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Michael J. Heyman holds a news conference on a criminal investigation related to an alleged scheme to confuse voters by putting a Senate candidate with the same name as the Republican incumbent on the ballot, at the James M. Fitzgerald Courthouse and U.S. Federal Building, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
hide caption
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Heyman did not specify Friday what potential crimes authorities are investigating or the targets of the investigation, but asked members of the public to offer tips that could help investigators.
It is highly unusual for Justice Department officials to publicly discuss a criminal investigation or even confirm its existence. The timing of the press conference is particularly notable given the Justice Department’s long-standing practice of avoiding taking public actions in the weeks leading up to an election that could be perceived as an attempt to influence a political outcome.
Trump, at a rally Friday night in Florida, said Peltola and Dan J. Sullivan should be prosecuted. He noted that U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche was in attendance and said, “He’s going to make his own decision.” »
Trump, then speaking directly to Blanche, said of decisions in the case, “Todd, please make yours,” and observed Blanche’s response.
Trump added: “OK, he said ‘yes’.”
Peltola, at a campaign rally in Anchorage Friday night, said she was “very deeply offended by these accusations that she was involved in someone else’s candidacy.” She said she didn’t need any help to win the race aside from voter support.
She was asked before the rally if it was possible that someone from her campaign was involved in Dan J. Sullivan’s recruitment: “I have no idea,” she told KTUU. “I honestly have no idea.”
The Times article revealing the potential recruitment of Dan J. Sullivan was based in part on interviews with a former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, who was fired before the August primary. When asked about Rios by the station, Peltola said some people had “left for good reason. If I could fire them again, I would be happy to fire them again.”
Federal prosecutors this week issued dozens of grand jury subpoenas and records preservation requests, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Alaska’s Republican governor, Mike Dunleavy, said following the New York Times report that he had ordered an investigation to determine whether violations had occurred.
Meanwhile, the Alaska Democratic Party sued state elections officials, alleging that in-person absentee voting sites did not open as advertised in some rural communities. The Division of Elections director, in a letter dated Monday, said the agency has signed agreements with local or tribal offices to operate the sites and that most of the 18 highlighted sites have opened. A message seeking comment from the State Department of Law was not immediately returned.
Gn headline
