Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) has directed Republican voters supporting him in Alaska’s Senate race not to rank Democratic candidate Mary Peltola on the ranked choice ballot.
Alaska voters will see all four candidates plus a write-in option on the Senate ballot. There will be five columns of bubbles for voters to fill in next to each candidate’s name to select their first, second, third, fourth, and fifth choices to be one of Alaska’s two senators.
“I hate to say it, Sean, but in our screwed-up system, you rank the fake guy third, and then of course blank — do not rank Peltola,” Sen. Sullivan told Fox News’s Sean Hannity. “Now that is the screwed-up system we have. Fortunately, Alaskans also have on the ballot the ability to get rid of ranked choice voting. So, vote ‘yes’ on Ballot [Measure No.] 2.”
ALASKA BALLOT SITUATION PUTS THREE REPUBLICANS AGAINST ONE DEMOCRAT IN TWO STATEWIDE RACES
Republicans have aimed to repeal the state’s ranked choice voting system since it was instituted in 2022.
The system is meant to give voters more options, and proponents argue it has the effect of sending less-extreme candidates on both sides of the aisle to the general election, due to the open primary system. However, opponents have argued the system can open up the ballot to spoiler candidates and be more confusing for voters.
“We will finally get rid of this ranked choice voting scheme that allows this kind of corruption and cheating,” Sullivan said in the interview.
The incumbent is listed on the ballot as “Sullivan, Dan S. (Registered Republican) Incumbent.” The second Sullivan, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., who is not the Republican incumbent, is listed on the ballot as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.,” without a party designation.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that Peltola’s campaign recruited spoiler candidates named Dan Sullivan to confuse voters supporting incumbent Sen. Sullivan.
The Justice Department is also investigating the ballot situation regarding the candidate Republicans have dubbed “Decoy Dan.”
Peltola called the New York Times report “just another distraction.”