An Anchorage judge ruled on Friday the Alaska Division of Elections’ decision to disqualify a U.S. Senate candidate with the same name as the incumbent was unlawful. The state immediately appealed the decision, sending the case to the Alaska Supreme Court on Monday.
In the Friday night ruling, the judge determined Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, is an eligible candidate for U.S. Senate and that the division shall include his name on the August 18 primary ballot.
The division’s decision to disqualify Sullivan because it determined his candidacy was not filed in “good faith” was unconstitutional, Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews ruled. “The director’s assertion that Mr. Sullivan seeks to confuse or misguide voters is not supported by a preponderance of evidence,” he wrote.
Matthews wrote that the division accepted “at face value” complaints against the candidate made by the incumbent and the Alaska Republican Party while disregarding Sullivan’s assertions that his campaign was sincere.
The division made the unprecedented decision to remove Sullivan from the ballot on June 15, following allegations from Republican groups that he was a “sham candidate” and cited his similar name, party affiliation and campaign materials as evidence of an intention to confuse voters by running for U.S. Senate. In court on Friday morning, an attorney for the division defended the decision, saying it was within the division’s authority to remove a candidate to prevent voter confusion, and if a candidate is seeking to be placed on the ballot to “compromise the fairness of the ballot.”
Sullivan defended his candidacy as genuine, and appealed the division’s decision in state court. In oral arguments, his attorney argued Sullivan met all the constitutional requirements for candidacy, and the division had unlawfully added a subjective criteria.
The judge agreed, saying the division does not have the authority to add additional requirements for a candidate. While the director has the authority to prepare the ballot in the interest of “fairness, simplicity and clarity” for voters, the judge said the statute supports “ballot design solutions,” including name formatting and instructions. “It does not authorize the removal of a candidate who satisfies the legal qualifications for office,” Matthews wrote.
State regulation already prescribes what should happen if two identically named candidates appear on the same ballot. The ballot would include candidates’ middle initials — Dan J. Sullivan for the candidate from Petersburg, and Dan S. Sullivan for the incumbent senator.
The judge also denied the Alaska Republican Party’s motion to intervene in the case as a third party, but said the court would consider its position as an amicus brief.
The case is being fast-tracked ahead of the division’s deadline to certify and print primary ballots on Tuesday at noon. The Alaska Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in the state’s appeal for 10am on Monday, which will be livestreamed for the public.
