Alaska court reinstates Senate candidate sharing incumbent’s name

Republicans in Alaska were dealt a significant blow Friday after a court intervened to keep a Senate challenger on the ballot.

The Superior Court for the State of Alaska in the Third Judicial District has ruled that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a challenger to Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, must be restored to the primary ballot for U.S. Senate.

‘The Division’s application of a “good-faith” test to Mr. Sullivan’s declaration of candidacy is not supported by the US Constitution, Alaska statutes, or the Division’s implementing regulations.’

Judge Thomas Matthews held that the Alaska Division of Elections unlawfully imposed a “good-faith” candidacy requirement on J. Sullivan — a requirement that does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, Alaskan statutes, or division regulations.

J. Sullivan, a 69-year-old retired teacher, reportedly registered as a Republican earlier this year and entered the race to oust Sen. S. Sullivan on May 29, just before the deadline for filing.

In response, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Alaska Republican Party filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the state’s division of elections, respectively.

After Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R) requested an investigation into J. Sullivan’s eligibility, Carol Beecher, the director of the Division of Elections, concluded that J. Sullivan had not filed a genuine “good-faith” candidacy and instead sought to confuse voters by placing two candidates with nearly identical names on the ballot — deeming him ineligible to seek the office of senator.

He has also been accused of coordinating with Democrat operatives. Sen. S. Sullivan told CNN earlier this month that J. Sullivan’s candidacy was effectively a Democratic effort to “cheat.”

J. Sullivan appealed the division’s decision to the Superior Court, where Judge Matthews ruled in his favor.

RELATED: Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up? Alaska GOP works to keep another Dan Sullivan off the open primary ballot

Matthews affirmed that J. Sullivan met all the qualifying criteria set out by the Constitution, and therefore Alaska could not impose an additional requirement on his candidacy. The court further concluded that Sullivan’s alleged motives or political affiliations did not bear on his constitutional eligibility to seek office.

“The Division’s application of a ‘good-faith’ test to Mr. Sullivan’s declaration of candidacy is not supported by the U.S. Constitution, Alaska statutes, or the Division’s implementing regulations. As such, the Division’s decision to exclude Mr. Sullivan from the primary ballot is without a legal basis,” Matthews determined.

Matthews argued that ballot design — not exclusion — is the proper remedy for concerns over voter confusion.

“The Division may also design the ballot to facilitate fairness, simplicity, and clarity. But those tools are different from the complete exclusion of a candidate.”

The state has appealed the decision to the Alaska Supreme Court, with oral arguments scheduled for Monday. Unless the state high court intervenes, J. Sullivan will appear on Alaska’s Aug. 18 nonpartisan primary ballot.

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