Dunleavy Orders State Police Probe Into Alaska Senate Ballot Confusion

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has directed the state Department of Public Safety to investigate a suspected effort to manipulate the upcoming U.S. Senate election. The order follows a New York Times report alleging that an organized group tried to recruit a candidate with the same name as the current Republican senator to confuse voters.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Dunleavy said the new reporting provided evidence supporting earlier findings from the Alaska Division of Elections. That division had already looked into similar concerns in June. The governor stated that the latest information substantially backs those initial findings. He specifically tasked the Department of Public Safety with determining if state laws were broken and whether criminal or civil action is justified.

The New York Times based its reporting on texts, documents, and 12 sources. The materials allegedly show that members of Senator Mary Peltola’s campaign, her lawyers, and senior aides from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee helped push Dan J. Sullivan, a Republican, onto Alaska’s four-way ballot. The Times reported the group internally called this the ballot composition project. The goal was to find a spoiler candidate who could siphon votes from incumbent Sen. Sullivan, thereby benefiting Peltola.

Dunleavy emphasized that voters have a fundamental right to choose the candidate they intend to support. He described the alleged scheme as an attempt to trick voters into casting ballots for someone else, which he said strikes at the integrity of elections. The governor added that any person or organization found to have broken the law must be held accountable.

Alaskans for Mary, the campaign committee for Peltola, responded to the allegations on Wednesday. A spokesperson said the campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. The DSCC also issued a statement to ABC News denying involvement with Dan J. Sullivan. A DSCC spokesperson noted that Republicans have a long history of recruiting candidates to boost their own campaigns.

The next step in the process is the Department of Public Safety’s review of the evidence. Dunleavy stated that the evidence will determine what happens next. The governor’s office did not provide a specific timeline for the conclusion of the probe.