Justice Department asks judge to segregate ballots ranking second Sullivan

Criminal probe confirmed in Alaska Senate race days before Tuesday’s election

The U.S. Department of Justice pressed a federal judge on Friday to order Alaska election officials to preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan — a retired teacher whose Senate candidacy shares a name with the state’s Republican incumbent — as federal officials confirmed a months-long criminal investigation surrounding the race. The dueling developments came days before Tuesday’s ranked-choice general election between two-term Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a contest among a handful nationwide expected to determine control of the Senate.

In a filing, Alaska Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Bryan Wilson said the government “seeks to preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary.” Justice Department attorneys wrote that there is a “substantial risk” the candidacy “will mislead voters and ultimately result in an electoral process that lacks integrity,” and the filing asks for a decision by Monday. The department also filed a list of proposed questions it seeks to compel the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to answer as part of its civil suit, filed last week, seeking to block certification of the Senate race if the incumbent loses. President Donald Trump has said he told the department to file the case.

Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters in Anchorage that the investigation has been ongoing for several months, but that recent revelations in The New York Times that Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan resulted in a “significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska.” Heyman would not say what potential crimes authorities are looking into or who the targets of the probe are, but asked members of the public to come forward with tips that could help investigators.

It is highly unusual for Justice Department officials to publicly discuss a criminal investigation, or even to confirm one exists. The department has long avoided taking public steps in the weeks leading up to an election that could be perceived as attempting to influence a political outcome.

The probe has already reached the candidate’s supporters. The owner of a boat dealership in Daniel J. Sullivan’s hometown of Petersburg, who had donated to his campaign, told The Associated Press that an FBI agent visited the business and wanted to know whether he had been misled by the candidacy. He said he had not, adding, “Everybody knows who the incumbent is.” Federal prosecutors this week issued dozens of grand jury subpoenas and requests to preserve records, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Attorneys for the state questioned in filings whether segregation is possible at all. Voters’ ballots are commingled in the ballot box on Election Day, they wrote, and election workers could not separate out ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan without violating ballot secrecy protections — and segregated ballots would not reveal any voter’s reason for ranking him. The state has asked the judge to dismiss the case. It also said elections officials already took steps to distinguish the two men on the ballot: the senator is listed as Dan S. Sullivan, Republican and incumbent, while the challenger is listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation — the same presentation used on the August open primary ballot. Alaska’s ranked voting system further addresses potential confusion, the state argued, because voters may rank both Sullivans.

Peltola denied Thursday that she knew anything about the effort to put Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot. “I am not interested in tricking voters,” she said. At a campaign rally in Anchorage late Friday, she said she is “so deeply offended by these accusations about having any involvement with anyone else’s candidacy,” and that she does not need any help winning the race outside the support of voters. Asked before the rally whether it was possible someone on her campaign was involved in recruiting Daniel J. Sullivan, she told KTUU, “I have no idea,” adding, “I honestly have no idea.”

The Times story revealing the potential recruitment was based partly on interviews with Elisa Rios, a former Peltola campaign manager who was fired before the August primary. Asked about Rios, Peltola said certain people are “gone for a good reason. If I could fire them again, I’d be happy to fire them again.” Democrats, including the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, have repeatedly denied involvement in any campaign trick, and Daniel J. Sullivan has long denied that he is running at Democrats’ behest.

Speaking at a rally late Friday in Florida, Trump said Peltola and Daniel 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 addressed Blanche directly about decisions in the case — “Todd, please make your own” — and watched Blanche’s response before adding, “OK, he said ‘yes.’”

Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said, following The New York Times’ reporting, that he had ordered an investigation into whether any violations took place.

The ballot-segregation request follows a setback for the department in California, where the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Justice Department’s request to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election that were sent to some 20,000 people the administration contends may not be U.S. citizens. California officials argued the list is highly unreliable and most likely includes many people who are U.S. citizens.

Separately, the Alaska Democratic Party has sued state elections officials, alleging that absentee in-person voting sites did not open as advertised in some rural communities. In a letter dated Monday, the director of the Division of Elections said the agency signs agreements with local or tribal offices to operate the sites and that most of the 18 highlighted had opened. A message seeking comment from the state Department of Law was not immediately returned.