Federal prosecutors confirm criminal probe into Alaska Senate ballot confusion

U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman confirmed on Friday that a criminal investigation is underway in Alaska. The probe focuses on an alleged scheme to confuse voters by placing a Senate candidate on the ballot who shares the same name as the Republican incumbent. Heyman told reporters that the investigation has been ongoing for several months. He said the recent media reports caused a significant increase in law enforcement resources allocated to the state.

The timing of the announcement coincides with revelations that the campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola appeared involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan. Heyman said the department is acting intensely and swiftly on credible information that voters were deceived. The Justice Department also filed court documents seeking to isolate ballots ranking the challenger Dan J. Sullivan. The goal is to determine if those rankings resulted from voter confusion.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson filed a request on Friday to preserve and segregate these specific ballots. The filing states the government wants to investigate whether the rankings were the product of confusion. The Department of Justice also submitted a list of questions for the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. These questions address their reported role in recruiting the challenger. This civil litigation is proceeding in parallel with the criminal probe.

The federal action follows a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department last week. The suit seeks to block the certification of the Alaska Senate race if incumbent Dan Sullivan loses. This comes after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request to set aside disputed ballots in California. The California case involved 20,000 people the administration believed may not be U.S. citizens. Federal attorneys argue there is a substantial risk that the challenger Dan J. Sullivan will mislead voters.

Mary Peltola denied knowing about the effort to recruit the other Sullivan. She spoke at a campaign rally in Juneau, Alaska, on Thursday. Peltola said she knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except herself and the incumbent. She stated she is not interested in tricking voters. Dan J. Sullivan has also denied running at the behest of Democrats. He said in June that he had no contact with Peltola’s campaign.

Federal prosecutors issued dozens of grand jury subpoenas and record preservation requests this week. Heyman did not specify the potential crimes or the targets of the probe. He encouraged the public to provide tips to investigators. It is unusual for Justice Department officials to publicly confirm a criminal investigation. The department has typically avoided public steps in the weeks before an election to avoid the perception of influencing the outcome.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation into Peltola. He said the recent reporting reveals evidence of an organized effort to manipulate the election. The governor noted that the reporting supports earlier findings by the state’s elections board. State attorneys have asked a court to rule on the Justice Department’s lawsuit by Monday. They argue the case could cast a cloud over the election. The race is one of several Senate contests expected to determine control of the chamber.

President Donald Trump cast doubt on whether Peltola would be seated if she won. He told reporters in South Carolina on Thursday that it is hard to believe she would be allowed to run. He said people would have to see what happens. The federal and state actions are now moving forward simultaneously as Election Day approaches.