Alaska's Ranked-Choice Voting System Faces Scrutiny in Senate Race

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit last week to prevent the certification of a potential victory for Democrat Mary Peltola in the Alaska Senate race. The suit seeks to delay the official declaration of results until authorities can determine whether voters were confused by the presence of a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. on the ballot.

Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan currently faces three challengers in a contest that could determine control of the U.S. Senate. The other candidates include Peltola, the former state House member, and two individuals who have conducted minimal campaign activities. The legal challenge centers on the second Sullivan, a retired school teacher whom Alaska Republicans suspect was recruited by the Peltola campaign to split the Democratic vote.

A recent report by The New York Times stated that internal texts and communications indicated the Peltola campaign recruited the second Sullivan. This finding led President Donald Trump to call for the Democrat’s prosecution and prompted the Justice Department to issue subpoenas in a criminal investigation. Peltola has denied involvement in the strategy, a position also taken by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

The administration has moved to investigate the race despite being within 60 days of the election, a period when the Justice Department has historically avoided overt investigative actions. Officials defended the timing on Wednesday, stating the department is “following the facts and the law, not anyone’s political timetable.” Critics argue this marks a shift in how the agency operates, noting a recent surge in politically sensitive inquiries, including a search of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home.

Legal experts suggest the dispute highlights vulnerabilities in Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system. Under this method, anyone who pays a $100 filing fee can appear on the primary ballot, and the top four finishers advance to the November general election. Voters then rank their top three choices. Jason Torchinsky, a former Justice Department official, described the current situation as evidence of how the system can be manipulated by various actors.

Defenders of the voting process, including the Sullivan campaign, argue it is harder to manipulate because voters can rank both candidates named Sullivan above Peltola. The Sullivan campaign is urging Alaskans to use this strategy to ensure the incumbent retains the seat. The Justice Department’s lawsuit asks a court to hold the certification process if Sen. Sullivan does not win the general election.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, expects a judge to reject the lawsuit as “frivolous.” He noted that similar name-confusion tactics have occurred in other states, such as Florida in 2020, where a candidate named Alex Rodriguez won 6,382 votes and influenced a close Senate race. A former Florida state senator was later sentenced to 60 days in jail for his role in that effort.